Banca Commerciale Italiana
Banca Commerciale Italiana (COMIT), founded in 1894, was once one of the largest banks in Italy. In 1999 it merged with a banking group consisting of Cassa di Risparmio delle Provincie Lombarde (aka Cariplo; est. 1823) and Banco Ambroveneto, which had merged in 1998. The bank group changed the name to Intesa-BCI, which BCI temporary became a sub-holding company. On 1 January 2003, the group's name changed to Banca Intesa. In 2006 Banca Intesa merged with Sanpaolo IMI, based in Turin, Italy, to form Intesa Sanpaolo. History. BCI's predecessor was the Società Generale  di Credito Mobiliare, founded in 1862. This institution became successful as a lender to the iron and steel industry. However, the Italian banking crisis of 1893–1894, led to Credito Mobiliare's failure. On 10 October 1894 Credito Mobiliare was re-established as a private joint-stock bank under the name Banca Commerciale Italiana with capital from several German and Austrian banks, including S. Bleichröder, Deutsche Bank, and Dresdner Bank. BCI was originally modeled along the lines of German banks, making both short- and long-term loans. The young BCI continued to specialize in loans to industry, especially to companies in  shipping, textiles, and electricity. Giuseppe Toeplitz was the managing director of Banca Commerciale Italiana. His Villa Toeplitz is still located in Varese In the mid of the 20th century the bank was nationalized by Istituto per la Ricostruzione Industriale. In 1936, along with Banco di Roma and Credito Italiano, they were classified as "a bank of national interest" under the Banking Law of 1936. In 1999 70% shares of BCI was acquired by Banca Intesa. On 1 January 2001 BCI sold Banca di Legnano to Banca Popolare di Milano. In the same year the company was absorbed into the parent  company.