Revolt against Palenzona? What’s happening in Crt
The turmoil in the Piedmontese banking foundation CRT which has shareholdings in Unicredit, Mundys and Banca del Fucino. The resignation of the general secretary Varese and the role of Palenzona
The reign of the new president of the Piedmontese banking foundation CRT, Fabrizio Palenzona, lasted only a quiet year. The general secretary of the credit institution, Andrea Varese, strongly wanted by Palenzona to direct the complex machine of the Cassa di Risparmio di Torino, has thrown in the towel: the resignation is a real earthquake in an institution rooted in Piedmont but which has offshoots financial and relations even outside Piedmont, just think that Crt has shareholdings in Unicredit and Mundys, and recently also in Banca d'Asti and Banca del Fucino (an entry desired by Palenzona into the Roman institute which has caused many circles to grumble power in Turin).
But in all likelihood Palenzona's problems – which he defeated Giovanni Quaglia in the race for the presidency of the body last April – did not end with Varese's exit. Recent moves by Palenzona himself as well as the actions and roles of his very close collaborators are also coming under fire.
But a pro-Palenzona interpretation of the latest events is also circulating in Turin: having understood that some of Varese's choices – also in terms of appointments – were contested, Palenzona would have said that the same choices were not his own making, effectively discharging the responsibilities on the Palenzonian (or former Palenzonian, according to pro-Palenzona interpretations) Varese.
Below are some extracts from today's articles in Corriere della Sera , Repubblica and Lo Spiffero .
EXTRACT FROM AN ARTICLE FROM CORRIERE DELLA SERA:
They should have designated Massimo Lapucci's successor at the Ogr («defenestrated» from the leadership of Crt upon Palenzona's arrival a year ago) but instead the councilors disqualified Andrea Varese, the new general secretary of the Turin Foundation. Yesterday at the headquarters in Via XX Settembre, a few minutes of the Board of Directors were enough to trigger an earthquake that ended with Varese's resignation and the doors slammed shut by a very irritated Fabrizio Palenzona. The Board of Directors has in fact transformed itself into a settling of accounts. Last week Varese reported to the Mef Supervisory Authority the existence of a "pact" between councilors (the Fondazione di Domani) which aimed to manage appointments and decisions in an autonomous way.
The "discovery" of the "foundation within the foundation" led to the resignation of Corrado Bonadeo, a former Palenzona loyalist who had inspired "the pact supporters" of the Steering Committee. Yesterday the Board of Directors, meeting for the appointments of the OGR, argued bitterly with Varese, saying that the secretary "should not have made the complaint to the Mef without first going through the Board of Directors". Unnerved, feeling surrounded, especially by the insistence of attacks, by Caterina Bima and also by Anna di Mascio, and therefore disheartened, Varese felt that the relationship of trust no longer existed and threw in the towel by resigning. In less than a year of operational government, Andrea Varese, born in 1964, former Fiat and then Unicredit manager, leaves a highly coveted seat which has become a powder keg. After the long battle to the last vote for the presidency between Fabrizio Palenzona and Giovanni Quaglia, which ended last April 10 to 7, the atmosphere in the foundation never really calmed down. President Palenzona is often traveling and outside Piedmont for meetings and business. Varese, who had never held positions in philanthropic or institutional bodies, found himself under fire from the board of directors and the foundation's board of directors. And the initiation of a "pact" within the foundation under his nose, although discovered in time, certainly did not help his leadership. Now, barring second thoughts, the CRT Foundation will have to find not only a new guide for the OGR, a 100 million investment for the city, but for its entire structure. The non-profit organization manages more than 3 billion in investments and provides around 70 million euros in the area. It has shareholdings in Unicredit and Mundys, and recently also in Banca d'Asti and Banca del Fucino. Under the guidance of Varese and Palenzona Fondazione Crt also acquired an innovative winery in the Alessandria area, 20 million euros for Enosis.
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EXTRACT FROM AN ARTICLE FROM THE REPUBLIC:
Heads continue to roll in Fondazione Crt, a sign that perhaps the climate in via XX Settembre is not the best. Also because the head that rolled last night, after that of councilor Corrado Bonadeo last week and after the policy council was renewed, is one of those that matters most. He comes immediately under the president, Fabrizio Palenzona: he is Andrea Varese, who had been appointed general secretary less than a year ago, in July 2023, after Palenzona, who had won the presidency a few months earlier by sending Giovanni Quaglia home, he had found a way to resolve the relationship with Massimo Lapucci.
Varese did not last long. He resigned last night, at the end of a hectic and difficult day for Palenzona who, in fact, found himself with a different majority from the one that had elected him. And from the one he had imagined. And even on the board of directors the weights are different. Varese's resignation has the flavor of an obligation, in the face of a board of directors that would have revoked him, rather than a free choice. An indirect slap to the president who then decided to suspend the board of directors. “If that's the case, that's enough, I have to think about what to do,” he would have said. Is it possible that Palenzona will also take a step back? Difficult. A president who acknowledges that he no longer has a majority should do so, but the Alexandrian entrepreneur first wants to understand what type of majority, which is also reflected in the board of directors, has been created. And whether he can intervene to change the situation. In fact, there was no vote last night. not even on the positions at the Ogr and in the other subsidiaries of the Foundation. The majority of the board of directors, including the deputy Caterina Bima, and the councilors Davide Canavesio, Anna Maria Di Mascio and Antonello Monti, raised the Varese question, after asking Roberto Mercuri, a Palenzona loyalist, to leave the council room and no longer attend board meetings. A discussion that then got stuck on the management of the last year, on some choices made, between investments in the vineyards and operations outside the North-West. Then the need to give a sign of discontinuity. «Okay, I understand. I resign", Varese would have said.
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EXTRACT OF AN ARTICLE PUBLISHED IN THE TURIN NEWSPAPER LO SPIFFERO:
A further reason for the Varese manager's abandonment would be precisely the management of the appointments to be drawn from the trio presented by the entities represented in the foundation. Some excellent exclusions, such as that of Enzo Ghigo and others that refer to the governor Alberto Cirio and the mayor of Turin Stefano Lo Russo , have provoked more than predictable reactions that were not exactly welcome in via XX Settembre. Again according to rumors coming from that building and from the others of the city and regional power, Palenzona himself would have traced to the secretary he wanted at the foundation a questionable management of the appointments game to say the least. Credible or not, Furbizio in unloading his discontent on Varese risks representing to the outside world the image of a body in complete anarchy. Furthermore, it was managed remotely by a president who was absent and distracted by other matches. In short, enough and perhaps enough to put an end to the shortest mandate in the history of the CRT.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/economia/rivolta-contro-palenzona-che-cosa-sta-succedendo-in-crt/ on Sat, 20 Apr 2024 09:49:42 +0000.