Banking Risk: What's Changing for Savings and Investments

The latest chapter of Italian banking risk confirms a now consolidated trend: the progressive strengthening of integration between the main national hubs and the concentration of the sector around a few large operators. A similar and even more marked dynamic characterizes complementary pensions. But what benefits and what critical issues does this process present for savers? An analysis by Andrea Rocchetti, Global Head of Wealth at Moneyfarm, provides the answer.

Advantages and critical issues

For savers, the presence of a few large, solid groups presents some undoubted advantages. Better-capitalized banks are generally better able to absorb economic shocks, invest in technological innovation and cybersecurity, as well as support competition at a European level. From this perspective, the larger size can represent a concrete guarantee of stability for those who entrust them with their savings.

Alongside the benefits, however, some critical issues emerge. In fact, a more concentrated market tends to reduce the competitive pressure between operators, limiting both the opportunities for customers to change intermediaries and the incentives for banks to improve the offer. This issue is particularly relevant in Italy, where the relationship of trust with the consultant encourages staying with the same operator. According to a survey by Altroconsumo, 50% of those interviewed have used the same bank for over twenty years and 73% for more than ten years.

This poor mobility seems to be dictated more by inertia than by a conscious choice, and comes at a high cost. According to 2024 data from the Bank of Italy, those who had an account with the same bank for over ten years paid an average of 122 euros a year, more than double the 59 euros paid by those who had opened the account less than twelve months ago..

The integrated model and Retail Investment Strategy (RIS)

Another characteristic element of the Italian system is the integrated model, in which the same group controls the bank, the management company and the distribution network. A structure that generates potential conflicts of interest and which does not appear to have produced tangible benefits in terms of efficiency for the end customer, given that the costs of mutual funds in Italy remain among the highest in Europe. On average, an equity fund has annual commissions above 2%, and according to a Consob analysis, approximately 70% of management commissions are absorbed by the distribution network.

To combat poor mobility and high distribution costs, the European Commission approved the Retail Investment Strategy (RIS) regulatory package in December 2025, which imposes transparency and comparability on costs. The RIS introduces the principle of Value for Moneywhich obliges manufacturers and distributors not only to compare their products with a comparable reference group, but also to formally demonstrate (via an active test of proportionality) that the costs are fully justified. In theory, the economies of scale of mergers should allow for better and less expensive services, but experience shows that the benefits of synergies often tend to remain with shareholders, without resulting in reduced fees for clients.

The closure of branches and the future of consultancy

Furthermore, the banking risk has not stopped the progressive downsizing of the physical presence in the area. In 2025 alone, another 516 branches were closed and today 44% of Italian municipalities lack a bank branch, leaving around five million people without a local service.. The reduction of branches does not necessarily represent a problem if digital channels are able to fill the gap, but the transition towards truly hybrid service models – capable of integrating technology and human consultancy – still appears incomplete.

The importance of a conscious choice

In an increasingly concentrated market, it remains essential for savers to avoid a passive attitude, paying attention to the services received and comparing costs and conditions. Exercising one’s power of choice is also the goal that the Savings and Investments Union European Union, which aims to create more comparable savings tools, portable between different providers and accessible beyond national borders. A first concrete step in this sense is represented by Savings and Investment Accountsstandardized accounts recommended by the European Commission to the Member States, even if for the moment this is still a traced direction rather than a fully achieved goal.