Mediobanca has long been considered an Italian banking exception – a secretive and influential institution at the heart of what was once known as the salotto buono, a lofty and exclusive club of Milanese and north Italian big business. Enrico Cuccia, its founder and late chairman, remains one of the most remarkable and enigmatic figures of European banking. But he left the investment bank with a big handicap – it was too Italian and too reliant on its web of core shareholdings in big Italian companies.

These days, Mediobanca is changing, and far more quickly than people think. It is still at the centre of a tangled domestic corporate network with stakes in companies such as Assicurazioni Generali, Telecom Italia and the RCS media group. Cesare Geronzi, its chairman, is a veteran power broker who enjoys playing Italian corporate politics. But this has not prevented Mediobanca from adapting to the broader challenges of global finance.