That’s why Bastianini will be torpedoed by Mps
Mps: facts, names and scenarios (Bastianini's fate is sealed). The article by Emanuela Rossi
His fate seems to be sealed and the name of his successor is already being discussed. Montepaschi's board of directors, scheduled for next Monday to approve the 2021 accounts and for "a Corporate Governance audit regarding the CEO", should end with the departure of the CEO, Guido Bastianini: yes it is just a question of understanding whether by challenging him – it would be the second time after what happened in Carige in 2017 – or not.
To precipitate the situation would have been the request for resignation received by the manager – who in 2020 had taken over from Marco Morelli – directly from the general manager of the Mef, Alessandro Rivera, who in November denied the hypothesis during a hearing in Parliament. The indiscretions that have been running for days identify the causes of the turnover in the inadequacy of Bastianini to manage the board that within the year will have to launch a capital increase of 2.5 billion, a necessary step for the subsequent exit of the State from the shareholding structure, extended in November after the termination of negotiations with Unicredit.
It should be remembered that in the first nine months of 2021 – therefore under the guidance of the banker wanted in particular by the Five Star Movement – MPS made a profit of 388 million and managed to clear a prospective capital deficit of 1.5 billion just over a year. does.
Meanwhile, the trade unions have asked for "an assumption of responsibility by the shareholder state and clarity and certainty about the future of the MPS group and its workers". And if for the governor of Tuscany, Eugenio Giani (Pd), the change would be "inappropriate", for the mayor of Siena, Luigi De Mossi, "the future of Monte dei Paschi counts more than names and in particular the protection of employment levels ".
THE BOARD OF MONDAY AND THE FUTURE OF MONTE
The one on Monday 7 February therefore promises to be a particularly hot board because the issues that unfold along the path of the Sienese bank are many and "weighty". On the horizon, in fact, the new agreement with Brussels stands out which however – according to Il Sole 24 Ore – would have three obstacles in its path: the weight of costs on revenues, the employment effects of the objectives indicated by the EU Commission, the revision of the model of business with the rethinking of the perimeter. As regards the first point, the crux is the cost / income ratio which, in the two strategic plans approved under the guidance of the current CEO, remains above the levels requested by the commission or 51% already from 2021. On the employment front, however, we went from the hypothesis of 2,500 redundancies to 4,000,000. Moreover, notes the Confindustria newspaper, “'voluntary' redundancies, classic in the credit sector, must be financed. And the bill could exceed the one billion restructuring costs calculated so far ”.
The two issues, then, "also weigh on the construction of the 2.5 billion capital increase which also depends on the redefinition of the operating model of the oldest (and today most troubled) bank in the world". A topic that has been on the table for months already.
Meanwhile, on Friday Montepaschi denied the convening of an extraordinary board of directors, on the same day, for the choice of Bastianini's successor as written by Messaggero . According to Ansa , "the situation is still fluid and accelerations over the weekend cannot be ruled out even if at the moment Bastianini would not seem willing to step aside".
THE MEETING OF THE BOARD OF STATUTORY AUDITORS
On the other hand, it is certain that on Friday a meeting of the mayors of MPS took place at the request of Consob which – as reported by Ansa – would have turned on a beacon on Siena. In fact, in recent days, doubts have emerged about one-off stakes, and the college wanted to see clearly in view of the board on Monday. Also according to the news agency, Bastianini's supporters see in the meeting of the board of auditors an attempt to weaken him. An attempt that, at this point, would not even help.
WHO WILL HAPPEN TO BASTIANINI?
In the meantime, the toto-names have been unleashed for days on who will replace Bastianini. According to Il Sole , "we look at an estimated figure on the market, credible in the eyes of investors – given that there will be a 2.5 billion" market friendly "capital increase to be offered as an option to shareholders – and who is ready to define the new plan with the European Authorities ". The most popular names are those of Alessandro Vandelli (ex Bper), Victor Massiah (ex Ubi) and Luigi Lovaglio, ex Creval.
The latter, in reality, would be the most certain option according to Il Messaggero because both Vandelli and Massiah would have "formal impediments": the first has a non-competition agreement with Bper until August 2022 and the second would have expressed the desire to devote himself to university teaching. Furthermore, Vandelli would risk finding at the table Bper in the case of stew from Monte and for Massiah – "in the folds of the sentence of full acquittal in the Ubi trial" – there are "formal quibbles that lead to a choice devoid of any grip".
THE POSITION OF THE EU COMMISSION
Meanwhile, the European Commission has also made itself heard, which according to some newspapers would be in favor of the exit of the ad. For Il Messaggero , even Brussels would have asked for the defenestration of Bastianini as he is not "reliable" and "unsuitable to lead the new phase" of Monte.
To dispel the rumors of his involvement, the Commission wanted to let it be known – through the spokesperson Arianna Podestà – that "it is closely following the developments" of the Sienese events, that "it is in close contact with the Italian authorities" but that He "has no comment" to make on journalistic rumors. Podestà also recalled that the European Antitrust in 2017 accepted a plan "which provides for the restructuring and certain commitments" of the banking group and "as always, it is up to the Member State to respect the commitments
and propose ways to respect them. It is up to Italy to decide and propose ways to exit the capital of Mps, taking into account the 2017 decision ". concludes.
THE INCURSIONS OF POLITICS
Politics took care of Bastianini's defense, in particular the Five Star Movement – to which the appointment is due – which warned against creating instability for the bank. "The recent rumors on the position of the CEO are not positive signs and for the relaunch of the bank and for the shareholders themselves" said Carla Ruocco, president of the Parliamentary Supervisory Commission on the banking system, in an interview with Formiche.net , while Daniele Pesco, a member of the same Commission and chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, asked "the Treasury to clarify the situation again, to avoid fueling ambiguous signals and expectations: if the management of the bank was profitable, the reason would not be understood of a possible change at the top ".
On the same wavelength the leader of the Carroccio, Matteo Salvini: “Politics cannot question the CEO of MPS, Bastianini, who has obtained the best results in recent years. Minister Franco clarifies: is a manager who has shown that MPS can walk really under discussion? ”. It goes beyond Stefano Fassina (LeU) for which “Dr. Bastianini has done and is doing an excellent job, as documented by the results obtained and the budget forecasts. The Minister of Economy – said the deputy – must come and make an urgent report to the competent parliamentary committees and give reasons for the initiatives he intends to take ".
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/economia/ecco-perche-bastianini-sara-silurato-da-mps/ on Sat, 05 Feb 2022 08:26:04 +0000.