CREDITO ARTIGIANO ADOPTS CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEET AS AT DECEMBER 31st 2001. Assets are rising thanks to the latest take-overs

Milan, March 19th 2002 - In a meeting chaired by Mr Bassano Baroni, the Credito Artigiano's Board of Directors has adopted the consolidated balance sheet as at December 31st 2001. In addition to the Credito Artigiano's operating results, which the Board already confirmed on February 27th, the consolidated balance sheet includes the Banca dell'Artigianato e dell'Industria, the Banca Regionale Sant'Angelo, as well as the controlled Leasingroup Sicilia's, operating results.

Figures pertaining to both controlled companies have been influenced by: 1) the development of the BAI's operating procedures 2) a fundamental reorganizing process, which has affected the Regionale Sant'Angelo's network. In 2001, in fact, the Banca dell'Artigianato e dell'Industria has been involved in considerable investments for the opening of three more branch offices in the province of Brescia, while the Banca Regionale Sant'Angelo - which was established only on January 1st 2001, following the merger of most of the Banca Popolare Sant'Angelo's branch network into the Nuova Banca del Monte Sant'Agata and has joined the Credito Valtellinese Group since June 2001, after adjusting its information system to the Credito Valtellinese advanced standards, has started strengthening its commercial network and operating procedures only in the second half of last year. Detailed results are as follows: the BAI has seen an operating loss for € 838,000. The Banca Regionale Sant'Angelo ended the year with a loss for € 727,000.

The Group has started a plan for the reorganization of the Credito Valtellinese's branch network in Sicily. The first stage of this plan is leading to the merger of the Banca Popolare Santa Venera and Leasingroup Sicilia into the Banca Regionale Sant'Angelo, in accordance with guidelines that the Boards of Directors of the merging companies already confirmed on March 13th last to establish one single bank called the Credito Siciliano, based in Sicily and disposing of a larger, more competitive branch network serving any area in the island. Thanks to a greater size and benefiting from synergies and scale economies, the Credito Siciliano will allow improving both operating procedures and results, exploiting investments made by the Credito Artigiano for the best.

Figures in the Credito Artigiano's consolidated balance sheet for 2001, which refer to wider aggregates than in 2000, are as follows: direct deposits: € 3,301 million (+52.5% compared with December 31st 2001); indirect deposits: € 3,865 million (+ 12.1%); savings held for administration: € 1,706 million (+23.4%); credits to customers: € 2,830 million (over +58% with respect to last year).

As regards the profit and loss account - considering that, as already in the half-yearly report as at June 30 2001, figures in the Banca Regionale Sant'Angelo's profit and loss account, as well as those pertinent to the controlled company Leasingroup Sicilia, have been entered entirely only for the second half of 2001 - the interest margin amounts to € 103.3 million (+36% compared with December 2000). This was mainly the result of an increase in assets under management, in particular as for the controlled companies. The intermediation margin amounts to € 164.3 million (+23%).

Operating costs amount in all to € 112.8 million, value adjustments to € 22.4 million. The operating income totals € 29 million (-18.7%). Ordinary profits are € 12 million and the net consolidated profits for the year amount to € 4.6 million (- 63% with respect to the previous year).