The Monte dei Paschi meeting has begun in Siena (+0,49%) which will sanction the turning point at the top with the arrival of Alessandro Profumo as president and the passage of Fabrizio Viola from general manager to managing director. The shareholders present, also called to approve the 2011 financial statements as well as the election of the Board of Directors, are 163 for 63,1% of the share capital. There are no surprises among the large shareholders: the Foundation has 36,3%, Aleotti 4%, Axa 3,7%, Unicoop 2,73%, Jp Morgan 2,53%. Gorgoni (representatives of former Salento shareholders) just under 1,5% overall divided into three packages while the Timelife of the financier Raffaele Mincione 1,01%.
Giuseppe Mussari, the outgoing president, greeted the shareholders: “Anyone who leaves after this Assembly will do so with the certainty of passing the baton to people who will continue to work with the aim of giving Monte dei Paschi a solid growth perspective - he said -. To them, to Alessandro Profumo and Fabrizio Viola in particular, I send my best wishes: I am sure that the Bank is, from today, in solid and capable hands”. However, Mussari does not forget Antonio Vigni, former general manager who came out last January to make room for Viola "who - said Mussari - found himself steering the ship in the period in which the storm revealed its true face, its anger and its strength. He has taken on this great responsibility, and we are grateful to him for that."
And he hasn't failed to defend the bank's work in recent years. “Italy is paying a very high price, with a rapid, serious and widespread deterioration of the real economy. But let's face it, more than our demerits. Different choices in the European panorama, and beyond, could have directed events towards less devastating paths". Mussari recalled that in recent years Monte has initiated and largely implemented projects aimed at making the Group leaner, more efficient and commercially effective. “Hardly – he added – it would have been possible to do more, unless you want to question the nature of Monte dei Paschi, which is that of an Italian retail commercial bank, for which employees and customers are the pillars of strategies oriented to sustainable results over time”.
