The key to the success of Bipop-Carire and Banca Fideuram appears to be an emphasis on face-to-face advice.

ECONOMIST: Banking for the well-off

Last year, two local investment-adviser networks, Bipop-Carire and Banca Fideuram, accounted for 42% of new money going into Italian mutual funds.

ECONOMIST: Banking for the well-off

Capitalia was created in 2002 from the merger of Bancaroma and Bipop-Carire.

FORBES: Capitalia Next On The Block?

That appears to be the logic behind the merger of Banca di Roma, Italy's fourth-biggest bank, and Bipop-Carire, once a stockmarket darling.

ECONOMIST: An unbecoming Italian merger

What Bipop-Carire will not solve, however, is Banca di Roma's bad-loan problem.

ECONOMIST: An unbecoming Italian merger

Picking up the pieces, Banca di Roma gets Bipop-Carire's retail-banking network in the prosperous north of Italy, where its absence has hampered its performance compared with other banks.

ECONOMIST: An unbecoming Italian merger

Bipop-Carire's board of directors approved the deal this week.

ECONOMIST: An unbecoming Italian merger