Intesa Sanpaolo earned net income of €8.2 billion in the first nine months of 2026, its best nine-month result, including more than €2.6 billion in the third quarter, also a record for that quarter, the bank said. It raised its 2026 net income guidance for the second time this year to well above €10 billion, despite an almost €1 billion tax impact from Italy's 2026 Budget Law.
On the same day the Italian lender raised the exchange ratio in its public tender and exchange offer for Monte dei Paschi di Siena (MPS). Following its interim dividend of 22 cents a share for 2026, Intesa will now offer 1,664 new Intesa shares for every thousand MPS shares tendered, up from 1,600 per thousand, a change it said fully neutralises the effect of the dividend, which goes ex on 23 November and is paid on 25 November.
PROFIT, COSTS AND CAPITAL
Net income rose 8% year on year. Annualised return on equity reached 21% and annualised return on tangible equity 26%, while earnings per share rose 10%, the bank said. Net interest income was up 2% and total revenues rose by more than €1 billion.
Operating costs fell 1.3% from the first nine months of 2025, and the cost/income ratio fell to 36.7%, which Intesa called its lowest-ever nine-month level. The net non-performing loan ratio stood at 0.8%, and the CET1 ratio was around 13.1% after the €2.3 billion buyback completed in October and a 95% payout ratio.
Intesa said it will distribute €9.4 billion to shareholders through dividends and buybacks in 2026. The €3.8 billion interim dividend is up 18% on last year. "These results confirm the strength of our business model and our ability to fully execute the 2026-2029 Business Plan," said chief executive Carlo Messina.
HOW THE OFFER TOOK SHAPE
According to the TGB market profile for Italy, the system is led by two national champions, Intesa Sanpaolo and UniCredit, each with more than US$1tn of assets, followed by a tier of mid-sized groups being reshaped by mergers, and the five largest institutions held 51.2% of sector assets in 2025. Monte dei Paschi di Siena consolidated Mediobanca from 30 September 2025, lifting its total assets to €241.6bn.
APPROVALS AND TIMETABLE
Intesa said the offer is on track and has received the required sectoral regulatory approvals, including from the European Central Bank. An Italian newspaper reported that 49 administrative proceedings had been concluded successfully in 29 jurisdictions.
Consob, the market regulator, is expected to give its approval on 9 or 10 November, with the acceptance period for MPS shareholders likely to open around 23 November, according to Italian newspapers. A decision by the competition authority and then the golden power review are still to come; Messina has said he reasonably expects the process to be completed by the end of November.
THE TGB VIEW
Intesa Sanpaolo ranks 13th among European banks in the TGB Bank Rankings, which order banks by total assets, with US$1,127.9bn of assets. The tables show a 14.3% return on equity for December 2025, against 16.1% for UniCredit, 14th on US$1,022.5bn; Intesa's own annualised figure for the first nine months of 2026 is 21%. The next dated steps are Consob's expected approval on 9 or 10 November, an acceptance period expected to open around 23 November and the dividend payment on 25 November.
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