Matteo Arpe is Italy’s most famous investment banker. During 14 years at Mediobanca and Lehman Brothers he worked on key deals such as the privatisation of Telecom Italia and Olivetti’s subsequent takeover of Telecom Italia. It is strange then that, according to his friends, Mr Arpe no longer likes to be described as an investment banker. These days, they say, he stresses his other activities at Mediobanca, such as lending and asset management.
But in his new role as chief executive of Italy’s fourth largest banking group, Capitalia, Mr Arpe is still proving himself the consummate dealmaker with the acquisition of Bipop-Carire. On top of this, he has been conducting a complete overhaul of the group, which includes Banca di Roma and Banco di Sicilia.
For most executives, overhauling Italian banks with less-than-perfect loan portfolios and old-fashioned cultures would take at least a decade. Mr Arpe, who took a salary cut to move from investment banking to universal banking, has pushed Capitalia a long way in just over a year. A fact that he and his colleagues are now telling investors in the US and London. Revenues are up 11%, administrative costs down 11% and provisioning is on course.
Capitalia should soon be fit to participate in the endgame of Italian banking consolidation as a player and not just a target. That again will require Mr Arpe’s investment banking skills – even if they go under a different name.
