Finance is facing a profound transformation. Technology, data and digital platforms are reshaping the way financial institutions build relationships, interpret clients’ needs and respond to changing market dynamics.

The second edition of Leaders Talk, SDA Bocconi Roma’s series of closed-door conversations, brought together Matteo Arpe, CEO of Banca Profilo and Founder of Tinaba, and Emanuela Prandelli, Associate Dean for Open Programs at SDA Bocconi School of Management. The evening was opened and guided by Gimede Gigante, Director of the SDA Bocconi Rome Campus, who highlighted the role of the Rome Campus as a place where education, business and institutions reflect on the issues reshaping Italy’s economic and financial system.

The discussion highlighted some of the most significant challenges currently facing the banking and financial sector. The conversation opened with the role of younger generations and the evolution of financial consumption behaviours: young users increasingly interact with finance through payment apps and digital platforms, shifting the relational centre of gravity towards non-traditional players. Banks, historically anchored to a model of trust based on institutional solidity, are now required to redefine their role in a context where trust is increasingly built through the quality of everyday experience, consistency and the ability to anticipate needs.

The discussion also addressed the limits of algorithmic credit assessment applied to SMEs: balance sheet data, by nature delayed and partial, are not sufficient to capture the complexity of a business. Knowledge of the territory, the context and the entrepreneur remains central, while human judgement continues to play a decisive role at key moments. The same principle applies to artificial intelligence in banking: a powerful tool for efficiency and new use cases, but one that still requires supervision, governance and clear accountability.

At the European level, the conversation focused on the declining competitive weight of European banks compared to the United States, in a context marked by regulatory fragmentation, limited fintech development and difficulties in cross-border consolidation. Data sovereignty, the digital euro and the creation of competitive European payment systems were identified as structural challenges requiring long-term vision and critical mass.

The evening concluded with a broader reflection on leadership: difficult choices, the relationship between vision and uncertainty, and the distinction between what is lawful and what is right. Themes that confirmed how the Leaders Talk format — conversational, closed-door and focused on substantive dialogue — creates a space for reflections that are difficult to replicate elsewhere.

With Leaders Talk, the Rome Campus continues to strengthen its role as a platform for dialogue among leading figures from Italy’s public, economic and institutional landscape on the issues shaping the country’s future decisions.

SDA Bocconi School of Management