With the support of NATIVA, Civibank rewrites the way of banking, combining the pursuit of profit with the objectives of common benefit through the acquisition of the legal status of Benefit Society.

Protecting its mission over the long term.
This is a priority for CiviBank, which was founded in 1886 as the Cooperative Bank of Cividale to contribute to the economic, cultural and moral development of the Northeastern territory through cooperative credit. In the course of implementing its recent strategic plan, in which the bank envisioned its transition to a joint-stock company in favor of dimensional, territorial and income growth and increased attractiveness to investors and business partners. Civibank wondered how it could ensure the maintenance of this original vocation, while protecting and preserving it over the long term.

The answer came with the adoption, in addition to the status of SpA, of that of Società Benefit (Benefit Corporation), which allowed the formalization of this vocation within the corporate purpose of the Articles of Association. 

This transition, which took place in May 2021, was particularly relevant for the Italian banking system because CiviBank was the first Italian bank to adopt the Benefit model as an economic paradigm for creating value for stakeholders.  

As NATIVA, we supported CiviBank in the path of acquiring the legal status of Società Benefit (Benefit Corporation) through the identification of the specific purposes of common benefit to combine the pursuit of profit with the objectives of social and environmental impact. We also worked on the completion of the Bank’s sustainability performance assessment and the design of an improvement plan for the future with the identification of strategic directions to follow.
A transformation that is much more than a “simple” change to the bylaws: becoming a Società Benefit (Benefit Corporation) means rewriting the way of banking, combining the pursuit of profit with the goals of common benefit. From 2021, therefore, an evolution has begun for CiviBank in the way it acts and does business, its organization, and how it will evaluate the effectiveness of its operations.