“Savings are undoubtedly the best Italian industry”. He is convinced of it Alexander Foti, managing director and author, since its birth in 1998, of the irresistible advance of FinecoBank, spearhead of the Unicredit group. A statement that finds further comfort in the growth of the bank's funding: 494 million (+42% compared to twelve months before) in the month of April alone, in line with the expansion of all of 2015 (2.106 million, +50% ), driven in particular by the results achieved by the network of advisors (1.909 billion euro, +53% compared to the January-April 2014 period). Even more impressive is the size reached by the customer base: almost one million (994.000, to be exact) thanks also to the arrival of 40 new customers since the beginning of the year "mostly the result of word of mouth - comments Foti - because I am convinced that the best promotional policy depends on customer satisfaction".
In short, the ship goes. So solid and robust that it can face a possible storm in the markets without taking on water. All to the benefit of customers' and shareholders' coronaries, rewarded in 2015 by a performance in the order of 40 percent. But will she always be like this? Or is the savings industry boom, once the first wave of Quantitative Easing ends, destined to resize? Absolutely not, replies Foti, the banker who had the courage to bet on the bank via personal computer when the vast majority of Italians ignored the rudiments of digital.
“The growth of the sector – he explains – is not a passing fad, but the reflection of an epochal change. Let's start with an observation that is too often overlooked: Italy is a rich country, with total assets in the hands of families of 9 trillion euros, if we also consider real estate. A wealth of 4 billion lire in liquidity and movable investments in the hands of a population that looks back on centuries of peasant thrift, in constant search for security. Especially in times of crisis, in which the vocation for savings is even amplified, much higher than those found on other markets".
It is a long-lasting phenomenon, not a new one.
“The novelty lies in the yields just above zero on public securities which require more thoughtful choices to make money bear fruit. But also to the growing awareness that not all banks are the same. Indeed, today institutions can go bankrupt and savers can have unpleasant surprises. Hence the ever-increasing search for consultancy, a terrain rarely explored by traditional banks, which have always practiced, rather, the sale of financial products. Technology also took care of revolutionizing the market".
In what sense?
“Italy started late compared to other countries, but today the digital gap has been practically filled. Even by the elderly, increasingly comfortable with PCs and smartphones. The novelty has profoundly changed the panorama of banking services and has favored the affirmation of our model: a single digital platform, both for relations with one's bank and for consultancy".
And herein lies the secret of your model, in some ways unique on the European scene.
“Our mission has always been to pursue, thanks to innovation, the best possible efficiency and to put it at the service of the customer. The best possible publicity is customer satisfaction who, over time, can take note of the level of our commissions and make appropriate comparisons. It is no coincidence that the most recent data attest that we are gaining ground among high-end customers, confirming that even the most demanding customers have taken note of our efficiency".
Let's talk about the stock market. What is the market share?
“35 per cent, with a significant presence of institutional investors”.
Could Unicredit reduce its stake?
“Obviously this is not my area of expertise. But I can say that membership of the Unicredit group is not in question”.
Are you thinking of expanding abroad as some of your competitors do?
“No, by far the best market is the Italian one of which we control only 1,34%. The possibilities for growth are enormous, as are the opportunities for the country's growth if a plan were developed to increase the efficiency of the 4 thousand billion held by families. A single 1% increase in returns would mean 40 billion more growth and tax revenues".
What do you wish about it?
"An organic project, based on a cultural turning point in a curious country: on the one hand we practice savings more than the others, on the other we demonize it on an ideological level with taxes that have more ideological than practical value".
