In the early 20th century, it was one of Italy's four dominant universal banks, together with Banca Commerciale Italiana, Credito Italiano, and Banco di Roma.
[5]: 252–254 [6]: 57 On 22 February 1908, a tumultuous general shareholders' meeting of the SBI was held in Milan, in which participants denounced the lack of accountability of the board of directors.
Shortly afterwards, the entire management of the SBI was replaced, with new leadership headed by Roberto Calegari, previously director of the Turin branch of the Bank of Italy.
This was widely viewed as reflecting Stringher's aim to control the situation, which had already manifested itself with a regulatory change of 31 December 1907 which had strengthened the Bank of Italy's intervention powers.
In mid-1908 it made unsuccessful attempts at merging with mid-sized regional peers, the Banco della Liguria and Banca Bergamasca di Depositi e Crediti.
The SBI's condition only decisively improved in 1911–1912, when French investors offered to inject new capital, first a short-lived attempt by the Crédit Mobilier Français then a successful one by the recently created Banque Louis-Dreyfus, which secured 7 seats on the 17-strong board of directors.
On 30 December 1914, the Banca Italiana di Sconto (BIS) was established as a new entity with a capital of 15 million lire, of which a significant part was subscribed by the Perrones, owners of Ansaldo.