Italian Bank's All-Female Trading Desk Challenges Wall Street Norms
In an unassuming building near the Naples waterfront, far from the financial power centers of Milan and London, a small Italian bank is quietly rewriting the rules of high-stakes finance. Banca Promos operates a fixed-income trading desk with a remarkable distinction: all eight of its traders are women.
A Unique Approach to Diversity and Performance
While the bank generates approximately €3 million annually from trading—a modest sum compared to the billions earned by major trading houses—its approach to building a successful team offers valuable lessons for the financial industry. The traders, many of whom are multilingual, rely on personal relationships with clients to match buyers and sellers across 50 countries.
"We really love this job, otherwise we would have quit long ago," said Martina Simeone, who leads the trading team. "It's not easy to make your way in a saturated market."
Unintended Diversity Through Merit-Based Hiring
What makes Banca Promos particularly noteworthy is how its gender diversity emerged organically rather than through targeted initiatives. CEO Tiziana Carano, who joined the bank in 1993 and took over leadership in 2005, explains that when positions needed filling, women consistently demonstrated superior preparation, motivation, and determination.
"Paradoxically, our strong gender diversity is precisely the result of not paying attention to gender," Carano said in an interview. This merit-based approach has resulted in women holding 19 of the bank's 30 positions, including most management roles.
Building Resilience Through Challenging Times
Founded in 1980 by Neapolitan entrepreneur Ugo Malasomma, Banca Promos has navigated multiple financial crises—from Black Monday to Europe's sovereign debt crisis—while maintaining its niche focus. When an exodus of traders reduced the desk by half more than a decade ago, the bank rebuilt around those who remained, many of whom were women.
The bank started as a small brokerage for corporate and government bonds before expanding internationally in the 1990s and securing a full banking license in 2004. With its founder now in his seventies, the institution is seeking a strategic partner to ensure future growth.
A Supportive Culture in a Competitive Industry
The all-female trading team has fostered a workplace culture that traders describe as less combative and more supportive than typical trading environments. This atmosphere allows team members to balance the demands of high-stakes finance with their personal lives outside work.
"We measure ourselves on the quality of our work," says Simeone, who also lectures at the University of Naples Federico II, teaching the next generation of financiers. "And we cover for each other."
Breaking Barriers in Italian Banking
Carano's leadership role itself represents a significant achievement in Italian banking. When she became CEO in 2005, there were practically no female CEOs at Italian banks. The perception that executive roles were exclusively male-dominated was so ingrained that one business partner once sent her a necktie with their season's greetings.
"I laughed a lot about it at the time, but looking back today it is quite telling," Carano reflected on the incident that highlighted the industry's gender assumptions.
While management has always been attentive to diversity and gender gaps, the traders emphasize that ending up with an all-women fixed-income team was largely coincidental. Yet this unique composition has created a distinctive working environment that challenges traditional Wall Street stereotypes while delivering consistent results in a competitive global market.
