Banca Mediolanum's H1 2026: Broad-Based Growth and a Certificate Boom

Net income +16%, NII +30%, and a thriving Grandi Patrimoni pipeline as the bank diversifies into fees, AI, and longevity.

BMED.MI · Earnings Call · 2026-07-30

The first half of 2026 was anything but calm for European financial markets — shifting rate expectations, geopolitical flare-ups, and energy-price swings created fresh uncertainty. Yet Banca Mediolanum's results tell a story of a bank that thrives on volatility by leaning into its diversified model. “The first half of the year provides further evidence of that progress.” — Massimo Doris, CEO · 2026-07-30 Net income came in at €555.5M, up 16% year-on-year, with operating margin jumping 20% and net commission income up 10%. Net interest income rose 30% to €478.5M, driven by a stronger funding base, balanced-sheet management, and a favorable repricing dynamic.

Certificates and Banking Fees: A Windfall with Strings

At the heart of the fee acceleration is a surge in certificate sales. Banking service fees rose 29% to nearly €158M, boosted by €78M from certificate sales that reached €1.2B in the first half — a 70% increase. As the CEO explained, “Those are plain vanilla certificates. We expect a slight drop in the second half.” — Massimo Doris, CEO · 2026-07-30 The decline reflects the early redemption of auto-callable products, a phenomenon unlikely to repeat at the same pace. This echoes a theme from the prior call, where management noted that “in 2025, markets have performed very well. And setting aside the certificate we sold in the past upon maturity, there were many calls as well.” — Unknown Executive, Executive (likely senior management or finance) of Banca Mediolanum · 2026-02-03 The fee line is clearly a high-water mark but also a reminder of how market-driven this revenue stream can be.

Grandi Patrimoni and the Network Growth Engine

Beyond fees, the bank is investing heavily in its high-net-worth franchise. Grandi Patrimoni now serves 4,500 clients with assets exceeding €2M, representing €21B, and management targets €30B by 2030. The program is gaining traction with both existing clients moving up the wealth ladder and new acquisitions. Meanwhile, recruitment is accelerating — 394 professionals joined in H1, a 69% increase, with nearly half coming from banks and insurance. The Banker Consultant program is creating a pipeline of 783 active participants, up from 590 in December, and productivity metrics are improving sharply. As the CEO put it,

The message is clear. The model is working, productivity is rising, and there is still meaningful room for further improvement.
Massimo Doris, CEO · 2026-07-30

AI and Efficiency: From Buzzword to Bottom Line

Management's discussion of AI tools is refreshingly concrete. Beyond the usual strategic platitudes, they described a mortgage-document-analysis system that has slashed outsourced review costs by 80%. In the Q&A, the CEO offered a tangible example: “We started to run a parallel process with an AI tool that analyzes all these documents. What we saw is that the speed of response... is much speedier. Thanks to this, the outsourcing costs are really plummeting.” — Massimo Doris, CEO · 2026-07-30 This is exactly the kind of operational leverage that can offset rising cost pressures, and the bank is simultaneously maintaining its cost-income ratio at 36.1% (down from 37.6% in FY2025) while investing for growth.

Outlook: Confident, but Not Comfortable

For 2026, guidance is upbeat: net inflows into managed assets around €9B, NII up 15-18%, cost-income near 38%, and cost of risk around 20bps. The CEO also hinted at an increased dividend per share. Yet the dependence on market performance remains — certificates are lumpy, and performance fees (€74M recognized, €220M untapped) are a wildcard. The prior call highlighted a similar tension, with management stressing that “the EUR 0.80 we are currently offering... we always refer to a performance that does not include one-off effects.” — Unknown Executive, Executive (likely senior management or finance) of Banca Mediolanum · 2026-02-03 This discipline is reassuring. In a world where banks are chasing Banking service fees and scalability, Mediolanum is proving that a human-first advisory model combined with smart technology can generate both inflows into managed assets and margin expansion. The certificate boom may slow, but the broader trajectory — more clients, more bankers, more durable assets — looks sustainable.