Banca Popolare di Lecco (BPL) was a

bank A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets. Because ...

that operated in

Lecco Lecco (, , ; lmo, label= Lecchese, Lècch ) is a city of 48,131 inhabitants in Lombardy, northern Italy, north of Milan. It lies at the end of the south-eastern branch of Lake Como (the branch is named ''Branch of Lecco'' / ''Ramo di Lecco''). ...

, in northern Lombardy in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

between 1872 and 1993. It was founded in 1872 as the Società Cooperativa di Credito Banca Popolare, and eventually expanded to 20 branches. The idea was to create in Lecco a local credit institution that would be responsive to local conditions. Between 1873 and 1881 the Society faced great difficulties due to a serious local economic depression; of the 600 and more factories engaged in the

silk Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoons. The best-known silk is obtained from the ...

trade, fewer than 100 survived. In 1912 two other local banks failed, but Banca Popolare survived and converted from a cooperative society to a corporation. The bank benefited from the expansion of war production during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. Between 1919 and 1932 it opened numerous branches in the region and acquired Banca del Mandamento, which permitted it to expand its branch in

Como Como (, ; lmo, Còmm, label= Comasco , or ; lat, Novum Comum; rm, Com; french: Côme) is a city and ''comune'' in Lombardy, Italy. It is the administrative capital of the Province of Como. Its proximity to Lake Como and to the Alps h ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

again created a period of great difficulties, including the German occupation forces requisitioning of its headquarters from 1944 to 1945. After the war normality returned and the bank reorganized. By 1947, it had 27 branches. By the time of its Centenary, it had 38, with two headquarters,

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

and

. Between 1988 and 1993, Banca Popolare di Novara (BPN) acquired a substantial stake in Banca Popolare di Lecco and seats on the board of directors. In November 1993, BPN sold its shares to

Bank of America and Italy Deutsche Bank S.p.A. is an Italian bank based in Milan, Lombardy. It is a subsidiary of Deutsche Bank A.G.. History Banca dell'Italia Meridionale was found in 1917. It was acquired by Amadeo Giannini, the founder of Bank of Italy (United States) ...

, which had become a subsidiary of

Deutsche Bank Deutsche Bank AG (), sometimes referred to simply as Deutsche, is a German multinational investment bank and financial services company headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany, and dual-listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and the New York Sto ...

in 1986. BPL lost its separate identity in 1994.

References

Companies based in Lombardy Lecco Banks established in 1872 Italian companies established in 1872 Banks disestablished in 1986 1986 disestablishments in Italy Defunct cooperative banks of Italy {{Italy-bank-stub