The bank was established in 1899 with support from the
Catholic Church, partly in response to the creation 13 years earlier of the which emanated from the local liberal bourgeoisie. The new institution was intended as a central financial entity for the expanding network of local cooperative banks that was flourishing in the region in the wake of
Pope Leo XIII's encyclical
Rerum novarum of 1891. In 1907, Banca Cattolica di Trento sponsored a majority-owned investment banking affiliate, the
Banca Industriale di Trento, which started operations in January 1908. From 1908 to 1912,
Alcide De Gasperi was vice-president and one of the three executive board members of the . In 1923, the bank inaugurated a new head office building in Trento, designed by architects
Guido Ferrazza and
Ottavio Cabiati. In 1927, the
Fascist regime, motivated to reduce the local influence of both the church and liberal networks, forced the merger of the , then chaired by
senator , with the . The merged entity, named '''Banca del Trentino e dell'Alto Adige''', soon experienced financial distress and closed on . The subsequently went into liquidation on , The bank's former operations were restructured in late 1934 to form the
Banca di Trento. ==See also==