Bancaperta adopts draft balance sheet as at December 31, 2003. Ordinary profit at 12.8 million euros (+2.98%)

Sondrio, April 16, 2004 - At today's meeting, the Board of Directors of Bancaperta has approved the summarised draft balance sheet of the bank for the year ended December 31, 2003, which recorded further increases in all balance-sheet items. Bancaperta is the Credito Valtellinese Group's web-bank, as it provides a wide range of Internet banking services to the Group's clientele (i.e. the banc@perta line). Bancaperta is also the company entrusted with all issues pertaining to Finance, in particular with asset management, assets administrations and private banking. The number of banc@perta users is growing rapidly. At present, it is around 160,000 customers.

The interest margin was down to 3.1 million euros, mainly because of the close of the leasing contracts (assignment to the parent company in 1999) and of a decrease in interest rates. Also the intermediation margin recorded a slight decrease to 30.5 million euros
As at December 31, 2003, indirect deposits stood at € 10,090.4 million, compared with € 4,076.1 million for the previous year. The ordinary profit recorded € 12.8 million, compared with € 12.4 million for the same period of the previous year. Taking account of taxes, net profits for 2003 amounted to € 8.6 million.

In the last part of the year, Bancaperta has been launching its banking products and services through the sales networks of companies external to the Group, a business strategy that has led to an agreement with the French insurance group Axa for making a customized version of Conto @perto available to AXA Sim users. This new initiative is an important step towards the launch of innovative business and commercial strategies. Bancaperta has also reached a cooperation agreement with Azimut Sim and is working together with them to design a customized current account with a number of additional features. Bancaperta has always attached great importance to developing strategic cooperation with primary financial partners and is taking much care of these common initiatives.

The General Meeting of the shareholders of Bancaperta was held on March 23, 2003 to adopt the 2003 balance-sheet and to appoint the new management team of the bank for the period 2004-2006. The Board of Directors of Bancaperta is now composed of the following members: Mr Renato Bartesaghi, Chairman; Mr Luciano Camagni and Mr Peter Spinnler as deputy Chairmen; Mr Silvio Bagiotti, Managing Director; Dario Colombo, Carlo D'Adda, Miro Fiordi, Agostino Fusconi, Carlo Negrini, Matteo Rinaldi, Dario Segre, while the Board of Statutory Auditors is now as follows Mr Vito Di Battista, Chairman; Sandro Litigio and Livia Martinelli, Acting Auditors; Edoardo Della Cagnoletta and Alessandro Panno, Alternate Auditors. Bancaperta top management team is also composed of the General Manager Norberto Gualteroni and the Deputy General Manager Luigi Tavasci. The General Meeting has also resolved on a few changes in the articles of association linked to the new corporate law.