The official act of birth of the Cassa di Risparmio in Bologna dates back to 14 July 1837<\/strong>, the day on which the then Cardinal Legate authorised one hundred private Bolognese citizens<\/strong> to found a credit society<\/strong> whose activities would be directed towards supporting initiatives of general interest to the Bolognese community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It was at the beginning of the 1990s that, in compliance with the Amato-Ciampi reform<\/strong> for the privatisation of public banks, the Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio in Bologna made its debut as an autonomous legal entity<\/strong>, with the aim of promoting the social, cultural and economic development of the community and the Bolognese territory. At the time of the reform, lending activities remained the prerogative of Carisbo, a new joint-stock company, while philanthropic and social activities remained the responsibility of Fondazione Carisbo, the historical continuation of the organisation founded in 1837.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the autumn of 2000<\/strong>, following the Treasury Ministry’s approval of the new Articles of Association, the Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio in Bologna became a private legal entity with a membership base and full statutory and management autonomy<\/strong>. The new statute emphasises the historical continuity of the intentions and final objectives that had given rise to the Cassa di Risparmio in Bologna 163 years earlier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In 2002<\/strong> the merger by incorporation of Cardine SpA (into which Carisbo had already merged) into Sanpaolo IMI SpA was completed. In 2006<\/strong>, the Sanpaolo IMI group was further strengthened through the merger with Banca Intesa<\/strong>, an operation that gave rise to Intesa Sanpaolo<\/strong>, a leading banking group in Italy and one of the main ones in Europe in terms of size and solidity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n With the signing, in April 2015<\/strong>, of the Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) and the Association of Foundations and Savings Banks (Acri)<\/strong>, the Foundation adhered to a fundamental step in a process of \u201cself-reform\u201d<\/strong>. The document committed the adhering Foundations to amend their statutes according to the contents of the Protocol itself, aimed at regulating the management of assets also through the diversification of investments, enhancing the transparency of disbursements and regulating the governance structure.<\/p>\n\n\n\nWhat are Foundations of Banking Origin?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n