Philippe Donnet He's pawing the ground. He wants to get to the'investor day of january 30th already with a draft of theagreement with Natixis which will guarantee the Generali a hook to grow in the sector ofasset Management, has become the most interesting and profitable business for the financial world, depleted of the excellent income provided until recently by the high interest rates which are now decreasing: together the companies would create a polo, second only to the French Amundi, with assets under management of over 1.800 billion euros, capable of competing with the North American giants.
Savings management would therefore become the main chapter center of strategy of the group and Donnet, candidate, although not yet formally, to lead Generali in the next three years. Donnet has often underlined the importance of combining life insurance with asset management to maximize profitability: "We are convinced of the power of the combination of life insurance and asset management as all life insurance companies in the world do" he said.
The key board meeting of January 20th
An key date for the CEO of Generali it is that of next monday, january 20th, when the board of directors will meet to discuss a memorandum of understanding with Natixis in order to then build the operation in the coming months.authorization process it is not a small matter. The operation will then have to be authorised by the Investment Committee and involves the analysis of two financial entities: Generali and Generali Investment Holding. The green light will then be needed of Ivass and Bank of Italy, sending to the competent offices of the presidency of the Council (which will forward it to the Ministry of Economy and Finance) of the communication relating to the operation, the clearance Antitrust. A path that Natixis should also replicate in France with the respective competent authorities.
The draft of the structure
The idea would be to create a joint venture, controlled equally by Generali Investments Holdings (a subsidiary of Leone) and by Natixis. Generali would entrust approximately 650 billion of its customers' savings, that is, only a part of its overall portfolio worth 843 billion (data as of the third quarter of 2024). The assets that refer to Banca Generali would be excluded from the perimeter. Natixis, which also manages savings from third-party clients, would instead contribute 1.200 billion, double that of Trieste. The difference between the two contributions would be linked to the profitability of the two companies and the ability of Generali to attract new clients, also thanks to the recent entry of the American Conning into the Italian perimeter.
The new entity in turn will pull the strings of a whole series of companies (several dozen). The same ones that already today, some under the umbrella of Trieste and some under that of the transalpine group, manage the funds of the agreement. Among other leaked details, on the one hand it would seem that Generali can remain the sole decision maker of asset allocation, at least of what will be its responsibility in terms of assets, on the other that every year the insurance group will "turn" its net collection to the platform.
Governance and the Mef with the golden power card
The governance provides for a CEO of Generali for the first 5 years and one of Natixis for the following 5 years: operational leadership would be entrusted to Woody Bradford, ceo of Generali investment holding. (the former CEO of Conning Holding, the company acquired in April 2024 by Generali).
But we will have to see what he wants if the government will want to intervene in the operation that affects national savings. The Generali-Natixis operation will be formally notified to the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, which will entrust the dossier to the Ministry of Economy and Finance, competent in matters of banking and insurance, which will evaluate whether there are grounds for brandishing the golden power procedure also in this sector.
Generali and Natixis portfolios
Based on the 2024 half-yearly report, Generali has almost 36 billion in BTPs in its portfolio, 21 billion in French government bonds, 20,8 billion in Spanish Bonos, depending on the country of origin of the company; with the new entity. Natixis does not have an insurance company behind it and the liquidity comes from the banking institution that derives from regional realities and significant management for third-party clients (institutional and retail). Natixis has long been looking for a partner in an industry that in Europe is focused on increasing size and spreading costs over a broader revenue base and increasing commissions. Together, with precise rules, Italians and French could form a more
