Equita S p A : appoints Mr. Fabrizio Viola as senior advisor

PRESS RELEASE

EQUITA APPOINTS MR. FABRIZIO VIOLA AS SENIOR ADVISOR

THE LONG-STANDING EXPERTISE OF MR. VIOLA WILL ACCELERATE THE GROUP'S GROWTH TRAJECTORY AND WILL FURTHER STRENGTHEN THE LEADING ROLE OF THE INVESTMENT BANKING DIVISION IN THE ADVISORY TO BANKING GROUPS AND FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS

Milan, 6 May 2021

Equita, the leading independent investment bank in Italy, today announces that Fabrizio Viola has joined the Group's Advisory Board as senior advisor. Mr. Viola's expertise will support the strategic evolution and growth of the Investment Banking division, especially in the advisory services to banking groups and financial institutions (Financial Institutions Group or "FIG").

With decades of experience in banking and asset management, Mr. Viola will reinforce the team's expertise with its deep understanding of restructuring, refinancing, M&A and capital market's transactions. Throughout his career, Mr. Viola acted as Chief Executive Officer and General Manager of several Italian banking groups (Banca Popolare di Milano - BPM, Banca Popolare dell'Emilia Romagna - BPER, Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena - BMPS), co-founder of Widiba, "Commissario liquidatore" of Banca Popolare di Vicenza and Veneto Banca, Chief Executive Officer at Depobank and FIG Senior Advisor at Boston Consulting Group (South-East Europe).

Andrea Vismara, Chief Executive Officer at Equita, commented: "We are really proud to have the opportunity to welcome to our Advisory Board another standing senior advisor like Fabrizio Viola. He will accelerate our growth path. His presence will be an incentive for all of us, especially for our FIG team that already assists financial institutions with senior financial advisory in extraordinary transactions and that positions among the leading teams in Italy".

Fabrizio Viola commented: "I am so pleased to start this collaboration with the leading Italian independent investment bank. I will help Equita and its clients with my 40-year's experience in the asset management industry and with the expertise I got managing banking groups in the past". Mr. Viola continued: "Thanks to its strong track record in M&A and capital market transactions, its leadership in sales & trading activities and its outstanding professionals, Equita is well positioned to have a primary role in the consolidation of the Italian banking industry and in the development and assistance to new fintech intermediaries".

Fabrizio Viola will work closely with Marco Clerici and Carlo Andrea Volpe - co-heads of Equita Investment Banking division - to further develop and consolidate the strong positioning of the FIG team in Italy.

Equita has been assisting banking groups and financial institutions for years. The FIG team - fully dedicated to those institutional clients - has a long-standing experience and a proven track record of M&A and capital market transactions. Some of the most recent deals include the advisory to Intesa Sanpaolo and Crédit Agricole Italia in their respective tender offers to acquire UBI Banca and Credito Valtellinese. In both cases, more than 90% of the share capital adhered to the offer, guaranteeing the success of both transactions and confirming Equita's execution capabilities in complex deals. Recently, the FIG team also assisted AMCO - Asset Management Company in the issue of senior unsecured notes and in in the spin-offof the non-performingloans of Banca MPS, as well as Mediocredito Centrale in the acquisition of Banca Popolare di Bari and CDP Equity in the assessment of its investment in the share capital of Euronext.

EQUITA GROUP S.P.A.| VIA TURATI, 9 - 20121 MILAN | TEL. [phone] | [e-mail] | WWW.EQUITA.EU

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PRESS RELEASE

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Equita Group	Close to Media	FinElk
Investor Relations - Andrea Graziotto	Adriana Liguori	Teresa Wincrantz
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Equita, the leading Italian independent investment bank, has been offering its expertise and insight on financial markets to professional investors, corporates and institutions for more than 45 years. The holding Equita Group, listed on the "STAR" segment of the Italian Stock Exchange, counts its managers and professionals among shareholders (with approximately 54% of the share capital) and this ensures a strong alignment of interests with investors. With its global markets activities, today Equita is the leading independent broker in Italy that offers to its institutional clients brokerage services on equities, fixed income, derivatives and ETFs. Moreover, thanks to the continuous engagement of the award winning research team - acknowledged for its top quality research - the trading floor supports investors' decisions with valuable analyses and investment ideas on Italian and European financial markets. Equita also leverages on a unique investment banking platform that combines independent strategic advice with unparalleled access to capital markets. The wide offering proposed includes advisory services in M&A, other extraordinary financial transactions, along with equity and fixed income capital raising solutions. Our aim is to best serve all clients, from large industrial groups to small and medium enterprises, from financial institutions to the public sector. Lastly, Equita Capital SGR offers to institutional investors and banking groups its asset management competences and its deep understanding of financial markets, especially in mid and small caps. The strong focus on alternative assets like private debt and the asset management strategies based on distinctive areas of expertise of the Group make Equita Capital SGR the best partner for both investors looking for interesting returns and banking groups that would like to co-develop new products for their retail networks.

EQUITA GROUP S.P.A.| VIA TURATI, 9 - 20121 MILAN | TEL. [phone] | [e-mail] | WWW.EQUITA.EU

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