The restructuring events database contains factsheets with data on large-scale restructuring events reported in the principal national media and company websites in each EU Member State. This database was created in 2002.
Financial Services Financial And Insurance Activities Financial Service Activities, Except Insurance And Pension Funding 64 - Financial service activities, except insurance and pension funding
1,600 jobs Number of planned job losses
Announcement Date
14 November 2006
Employment effect (start)
1 April 2007
Foreseen end date
3 September 2010
Description
The Commercio&Industria, Popolare di Bergamo (headquartered in Bergamo), the Banca Lombarda (headquartered in Brescia), and the Banca Regionale Europea (headquartered in Cuneo), are three important banks "embedded" in one of the most industrialised areas of Italy. They have 14,370, 7,518 and around 2,000 employees, respectively. At the end of November 2006, the Board of directors of the three banks approved their merger with other several smaller territorial banks.
The Unione Banche Italiane (Ubi Banca), the new banking group generated by the merger, will be the sixth credit institute in Italy with an average market share of approximately 7%, a network of 2,000 branches and around 4 million customers.
The merger envisages reorganisation processes, in particular for the three banks mentioned, which regard the loss of 1,300 jobs in the Commercio&Industria, Popolare di Bergamo, the Banca Lombarda, and the Banca Regionale Europea.
The representatives of the credit institutions and the trade unions have planned some meetings in order to reduce the negative social impact of lay-offs. They aim to reach an agreement on the recourse to economic incentives for voluntary resignation, or retirement for those who are already eligible. Moreover, they aim to define how to use the "redundancy fund for the support of the banking sector personnel", that was created in 1998 by the social partners and has introduced a sort of special Wages Guarantee Fund in the banking sector.
In August 2007, the representatives of Ubi Banca and the trade unions reached an agreement on the 2007-2010 reorganisation plan that envisages the loss of 1,700 jobs. 300 staff-cuts provided by the plan regard the previous separate reorganisation plans of the Commercio&Industria, Popolare di Bergamo, the Banca Lombarda and the Banca Regionale Europea. The agreement envisages that these redundant workers will receive help from the sectoral "solidarity fund".
Sources
15 August 2007: Il corriere della sera
15 November 2006: Il Bergamo
Citation
Eurofound (2006), Banche popolari riunite / Banca Lombarda, Merger/Acquisition in Italy, factsheet number 64515, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/64515.
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