Ex-Goldman Sachs & Morgan Stanley bankers escape Italian bank that offered brief shelter
If you leave your job at Goldman Sachs or Morgan Stanley in London, an Italian bank may hire you. If it does, you may not linger there long once a few bonuses have been paid.
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In 2023, Angelo Diotisalvi lost his job during a round of cuts at Goldman Sachs, where he was head of financial institutions group (FIG) financing for Southern Europe. Diotisalvi promptly got a job at Italian bank Intesa San Paulo in London, where he became head of financial sponsors for the international business.
Also in 2023, Mikolaj Zieleznik left his job at Morgan Stanley, where he was the London-based head of non-investment grade syndicate for EMEA. Zieleznik, too, found a new job at Intesa San Paolo in London, where he became head of loan capital markets in February 2024.
Both men have now left again.
Neither Diotisalvi nor Zieleznik nor Intesa San Paulo itself responded to a request to comment. However, multiple sources confirmed their exits. They are thought to have been voluntary. Zieleznik is understood to be moving to a bigger job elsewhere.
Intesa Sanpaolo is thought to have paid its bonuses for 2024 last week. The bank's compensation report reveals that its 873 risk takers (senior staff which likely included Diotisalvi and Zieleznik) were paid an average of €439k ($370k) in combined salary and bonus last year. This compared to an average of $2m each at Morgan Stanley in London and an average of $1.6m at Goldman Sachs in 2023 (the last year for which figures are available).
Intesa Sanpaolo is one of Europe's biggest banks, but corporate and investment banking activities account for a small proportion of its activities. In the first quarter of 2025, for example, the CIB generated around 20% of revenues. At Deutsche Bank, the investment bank accounted for closer to 40% of the total.
Intesa Sanpaolo insiders that Unicredit, which is managed by Andrea Orcel, is a better bet for bankers looking for an Italian experience. There are unconfirmed claims Intesa is going through a period of reorganisation that includes the possible closure of the sponsor team in New York.
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