Testigos de referencia

As set forth by Legislative Decree 38 of 28 February 2005, Intesa Sanpaolo Group’s Consolidated financial statements have been prepared in compliance with the accounting principles issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) and the relative interpretations of the International Financial Reporting Interpretations Committee (IFRIC) and endorsed by the European Commission as provided for by Community Regulation 1606 of 19 July 2002.

The Consolidated financial statements as at 31 December 2012 have been prepared based on the “Instructions for the preparation of the separate and consolidated financial statements of banks and financial companies, which are parent companies of banking groups” issued by the Bank of Italy, in the exercise of powers set forth by Art. 9 of Legislative Decree 38/2005, with Regulation of 22 December 2005, which issued Circular 262/05, and with the subsequent update of 18 November 2009. Additional amendments issued by the Bank of Italy on 7 August 2012 and 15 January 2013 have also been taken into account. These Instructions set out compulsory financial statement forms and their means of preparation, as well as the contents of the Notes to the financial statements.

The Consolidated financial statements have been prepared using the International Accounting Standards in force as at 31 December 2012 (including the SIC and IFRIC interpretation documents) as listed in the attachments to these financial statements.

The table below shows the new standards or amendments to existing ones, together with the related EU endorsement regulations, which came into force in 2012.

IFRS in force since 2012

Regulation endorsement Title

1205/2011 Amendments to IFRS 7 - Financial Instruments: Disclosures – Transfers of Financial Assets

The table below shows the new standards or amendments to existing ones, together with the related EU endorsement regulations, which will become mandatory - for financial statements reflecting the calendar year - on or after 1 January 2013. IFRS applicable subsequent to 31 December 2012

Regulation

endorsement Title Effective date

475/2012 Amendments to IAS 1 Presentation of Items of Other Comprehensive Income Amendments to IAS 19 Employee Benefits

01/01/2013

First financial year starting on or after 01/01/2013 1254/2012 IFRS 10 Consolidated Financial Statements

IFRS 11 Joint Arrangements

IFRS 12 Disclosure of Interests in Other Entities IAS 27 Separate Financial Statements

IAS 28 Investments in Associates and Joint Ventures

01/01/2014

First financial year starting on or after 01/01/2014

1255/2012 Amendments to IFRS 1 First-time Adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards - Severe Hyperinflation and Removal of Fixed Dates for First-time Adopters

Amendments to IAS 12 Income Taxes - Deferred Tax: Recovery of Underlying Assets IFRS 13 Fair Value Measurement

IFRIC Interpretation 20 Stripping Costs in the Production Phase of a Surface Mine

01/01/2013

First financial year starting on or after 01/01/2013 (*)

1256/2012 Amendments to IFRS 7 Financial Instruments: Disclosures - Offsetting Financial Assets and Financial Liabilities

Amendments to IAS 32 Financial Instruments: Presentation - Offsetting Financial Assets and Financial Liabilities

01/01/2013

First financial year starting on or after 01/01/2013 (for amendments to IFRS 7)

01/01/2014

First financial year starting on or after 01/01/2014 (for amendments to IAS 32)

(*) Each company shall apply the amendments to IAS 12 and IFRS 1 at the latest, as from the commencement date of its first financial year starting on or after the third day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

Given the relevance of the regulatory changes, the following is a brief discussion of the contents of certain of the Regulations indicated in the table.

With Regulation no. 475/2012 the European Commission endorsed certain amendments to IAS 1 to increase the clarity of the statement of comprehensive income (Other Comprehensive Income – OCI), by grouping together captions that in future will not be subject to reversal to the income statement and those that may be subject to reversal to the income statement under specific conditions. The same Regulation endorsed the new version of IAS 19, the aim of which is to facilitate the ease of understanding

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Notes to the consolidated financial statements – Part A – Accounting policies

and comparability of financial statements, especially with regard to defined benefit plans. The more important new elements introduced refer to elimination of the “corridor method”, with immediate recognition of changes in the value of bonds and assets serving the plan in the statement of comprehensive income.

The elimination of that method will entail an impact on the Group’s shareholders’ equity as at the date of initial application of the new standard, inasmuch as actuarial gains or losses not previously recognised under the “corridor method” will be recognised. According to estimates, the overall impact for the Group, as at 1 January 2013, will entail a reduction in equity valuation reserves of approximately 283 million euro, net of the tax effect (389 million euro before taxes).

By contrast, Regulation no. 1254/2012 introduced various changes in the area of consolidation through the endorsement of certain accounting standards (IFRS 10, IFRS 11 and IFRS 12) and the ensuing introduction of amendments to existing standards (IAS 27 and IAS 28).

The objective of IFRS 10 is to provide a single consolidation model that identifies control as the basis for consolidation for all types of entities. The standard provides a precise definition of the case in which an investor controls a company. In fact, according to IFRS 10, control exists if and only if the investor:

– has the power to direct the investee’s activities;

– is exposed to the variability of the returns of the investee in which it has invested; and – has the ability to influence the investee’s future returns, by using the power at its disposal.

IFRS 10 essentially establishes that in order to have control of a company, an investor must have the ability, deriving from a legally understood right or even from a mere de facto situation, to have a significant influence on the type of management strategies to be assumed with regard to the investee’s relevant activities and to be exposed to the variability of returns.

IFRS 11 instead establishes the principles of financial reporting by entities that are parties to arrangements that establish “joint control,” which may take the form of a joint venture (an entity in which the parties have rights to their share of net assets) or a joint operation (an operation whereby the parties that have joint control have rights to the assets and obligations for the liabilities).

Finally, IFRS 12 combines, strengthens and supersedes disclosure obligations for subsidiaries, joint arrangements and associates and unconsolidated structured entities. This standard was developed with the aim of consolidating and improving, including by introducing certain changes in terms of required disclosures, the disclosure requirements envisaged by the previous IAS 27, 28 and 31.

Finally, in Regulation no. 1255/2012, the European Commission endorsed IFRS 13. The new standard does not extend the scope of application of measurement at fair value, but rather provides a guide as to how to measure the fair value of financial instruments and non-financial assets and liabilities where already required or permitted by other accounting standards. The aim was to “concentrate” into a single standard the rules for measurement at fair value, previously contained in various standards, in some cases with prescriptions in conflict with one another.

Furthermore, none of the community regulations endorsing international accounting standards during the period in question significantly impacted preparation of the 2012 financial statements: as already indicated in the table, these are new standards (or amendments to existing standards), application of which is mandatory effective on or after 1 January 2013.

It is also noted that in 2012 the IASB amended several IAS/IFRS previously issued.

The following table presents the main accounting standards affected by the amendments, with a specification of the scope or subject matter of the changes. As the European Commission has not yet endorsed these updates, none of them is relevant for the purposes of the consolidated financial statements of Intesa Sanpaolo.

International accounting standards not endorsed as at 31 December 2012

Standard/

Interpretation Date of issue

IFRS 1 (changes) Government Loans 13/03/2012

IFRS 1 (changes) Improvements to IFRSs (2009-2011 cycle) 17/05/2012

IAS 1 (changes) Improvements to IFRSs (2009-2011 cycle) 17/05/2012

IAS 16 (changes) Improvements to IFRSs (2009-2011 cycle) 17/05/2012

IAS 32 (changes) Improvements to IFRSs (2009-2011 cycle) 17/05/2012

IAS 34 (changes) Improvements to IFRSs (2009-2011 cycle) 17/05/2012

IFRS 10 (changes) Transition Guidance 28/06/2012

IFRS 11 (changes) Transition Guidance 28/06/2012

IFRS 12 (changes) Transition Guidance 28/06/2012

IFRS 10 (changes) Investment Entities 31/10/2012

IFRS 12 (changes) Investment Entities 31/10/2012

IAS 27 (changes) Investment Entities 31/10/2012

Lastly, the application of IFRS 9 – Financial Instruments, issued in October 2010 (in its full version, regarding the accounting treatment of financial assets and liabilities) is not relevant for the purposes of the Intesa Sanpaolo 2012 consolidated financial statements inasmuch as it has not been endorsed by the European Commission.

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