The Banca Italease Group business focuses primarily on providing credit in the form of financial leasing, factoring, medium-term and long-term lending and retail mortgages. The Group also offers products and services which complement the provision of credit, such as insurance, instruments to hedge against interest rate risk, and the management of and, at the termination of leasing agreements, the placement in the market of, the assets and real property leased by the Group.

In 2005, the Group ranked first in the Italian leasing sector, with a market share of 14.3%, and third in the Italian factoring market, with a share of 12.7%.

The Group’s distribution network covers the whole of Italy; it’s directly present through its 40 branch offices, and also operates through branches of other banks, approximately 4,900 of which sell leasing products and approximately 8,200 of which sell factoring services. Under an agreement entered into in 2004, Group’s leasing products are currently available at more than 1,000 branches of BancoPosta (Poste Italiane’s banking division) dedicated to corporate customers. The Group also has a network of more than 1,000 agents and intermediaries which sell its products.

The Group had a total of 888 employees as at 31 December 2005 and the Bank’s current shareholders are predominantly cooperative banks.

The Banca Italease Group has been a forerunner in the Italian securitisation market, and, since 1994, it has originated 15 ABS issues for a total nominal amount of notes of Euro 7.3 billions.

www.italease.it