SAE and RAE are codes used by Italian banks to classify companies for statistical purposes and define their level of creditworthiness. These numerical codes, sometimes required by banks for administrative procedures such as opening a new current account, are used to describe the characteristics of an economic entity according to an internationally and EU-recognized standard.

The RAE code was discontinued in 2010 in favor of the Ateco code, which identifies the sector of economic activity, while the SAE code is still assigned by banking and financial intermediaries. Unlike the Ateco code, however, the SAE code is not listed in company records nor within the Business Register.

RAE and SAE codes: what they are and what they are used for

RAE and SAE codes were created to allow banks to register companies’ economic activities and classify customers based on objective parameters, such as corporate structure or number of employees. These codes, sometimes still required to start procedures such as opening a bank account or requesting a loan, were once assigned by the Bank of Italy through specific circulars. 

As established by the third update of Circular no. 140 of February 11, 1991, the RAE code was discontinued as of June 2010, replaced by the Ateco code of Istat. Ateco and RAE (Economic Activity Branch), in fact, served the same purpose: both identified companies’ activities based on NACE (Nomenclature of Economic Activities in the European Community), the EU statistical classification of economic activities.

The SAE code (Economic Activity Sector or Subgroup), instead, classifies banks’ customers according to other criteria relating to corporate form, whether or not the activity is financial, the number of employees, and the geographical area of reference. Together with Ateco, the SAE code enables banks to classify entities uniformly with reference to the nomenclatures adopted by Istat, which in turn reflect the common standard adopted by the European Union.

How to determine a company’s SAE and RAE code?

The Ateco code has long since replaced the RAE: RAE codes are no longer assigned, and the Bank of Italy no longer provides RAE information to companies. The SAE, on the other hand, continues to be assigned to economic entities operating in Italy. Also replaced by Ateco for tax and administrative purposes, the SAE code is still used by banks and credit institutions to classify customers for statistical purposes and to assess their level of reliability.

Unlike the Ateco code, which is mandatory for the registration of any economic activity, the SAE code is not listed in the Business Register nor can it be found in the chamber of commerce extract. As the Bank of Italy notes, the SAE classification “has no certifying value, does not represent a constitutive element of the legal or economic nature of the entities, and produces no legal effects for them.”

To obtain the SAE code, it is necessary to contact banking and financial intermediaries, who are responsible for assigning and verifying the SAE according to the instructions contained in Bank of Italy Circular no. 140. 

How to obtain a company’s Ateco and SAE codes

Along with financial statements, reports, and any negative events such as protests and procedures, Ateco and SAE codes are part of the data that provide a complete picture of a company’s size and characteristics. Therefore, in addition to statistical purposes, they are used by banks to assess a company’s creditworthiness, i.e., its ability to repay potential debts.

Such data can also be useful outside the banking context, serving as a valuable tool for business statistics or for preliminary investigations aimed at investments and new partnerships. 

The Ateco code, as we have seen, is included in the chamber of commerce extract, so it is very easy to obtain. The SAE code, on the other hand, is essentially used for banks’ internal purposes and therefore is not among the public data listed in the Business Register. To trace a company’s SAE code, it is necessary to refer once again to Bank of Italy Circular no. 140, which provides the complete classification. 

Today, Italian companies’ SAE codes are also accessible via API: Ateco, NACE, SIC, RAE, and SAE are in fact among the over 1,300 company data items included in Openapi’s Full Company report. It is also possible to obtain a company’s RAE and SAE using the Anti-Money Laundering (AML) service, which allows you to obtain all certified data for company AML verification in just a few seconds.