Analysis of the financial and insurance needs of immigrants in Italy
Executive summary (March 2008)
Background to the research
The relationship between migrants and banks in Italy is emerging as an area of great interest, attracting the attention of public institutions as well as the business and finance world. This has led to a series of initiatives aimed at increasing comprehension and knowledge of the financial behaviours of migrants. So far, as we now have an increasingly more detailed picture of the various issues and problem areas linked to the financial inclusion of migrants in Italy, we should now be able to provide more in-depth knowledge and information regarding the relationship between banks and migrants.
The previous work done provided the backdrop for this 2007 ABI-CeSPI research. The aim of the latter effort was to build and expand on the research conducted in 2003-2004 on the banking sector and its relationship with migrant clients , and a survey conducted in 2005-2006 on banking strategies and products/services targeting the “new Italians” . The intention was to strengthen the knowledge, awareness and effectiveness of Italian banks and, more generally, of the national political and scientific framework vis-à-vis this growing segment of the population and current and potential client base.
The information now presented provides an overview of the results of the recent research conducted by ABI and CeSPI. Specifically, the results come from two separate but complementary studies, both conducted during the second half of 2007:
• a survey of all commercial banks affiliated with ABI (the Italian Banking Association) regarding the number of migrants that are clients of the individual banks and the particular characteristics of this migrant clientele. By means of a questionnaire sent to the head offices of the banks, information and figures relating to 63.7% of all bank branches operating within Italy were collected, with the aim of gauging the level of bankarization of migrants and their banking practices as recorded on the supply side; and
• a sample survey carried out using an in-depth questionnaire given to 1374 migrants, both banked and unbanked, belonging to ten different nationalities and living in five Italian urban areas. The territories covered were: the Milan metropolitan area, the municipalities of Brescia, Perugia and Palermo and a municipal district of Rome (a description of the methodology used will be attached to the published research). The analytical scope of this survey was intentionally wide and comprehensive, and covered social and demographic details of the migrants, details of their integration within Italian society and their immigration strategy, their relationship with their country of origin, their motives for accessing banking services and the related modes of access (or lack thereof), the issue of savings and remittances, their varied usage of different banking and credit services, their relationship with insurance products and, in the final section, feedback on certain aspects of their relationship with their bank and perceived areas for improvement. The aim was to take a snapshot of the perceptions and practices of current and potential migrant bank users, while reflecting on processes of financial inclusion within the context of the wider dynamics of social inclusion in Italy.
This report analyses several of these aspects and presents significant preliminary results flowing from both these studies which differ in terms of their goals, fields of enquiry and methodologies. Indeed, while the research conducted on the banks provides us with “clear” figures and findings which are more or less uniform and general in nature, the sample survey conducted among migrants included both clients and non-clients, thus providing a wider cross-section of the migrant community and a large range of analytical possibilities notwithstanding the fact that the sample was confined to certain local areas and large national groups of migrants residing there.
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