Will Stephanie Bariatti, board member of Monte dei Paschi di Siena (Mps) and confirmed in the list for the new BoD, the new president of the Sienese bank. Together with her, confirmed Marco Morelli as Ad. the indication came from the Treasury during theMps assembly which is taking place in Siena. The institute communicated to the members, in a written response inserted in the file prepared for the assembly, of having made in October "recoveries of around 700 million" on the non-performing portfolio. Recoveries mainly concern the securitized portfolio. In the restructuring plan agreed with Brussels, Mps has planned to sell 26 billion gross of non-performing loans through the securitization carried out with Quaestio and which will see the non-performing loans leave the bank's balance sheet within the first half of next year. The bank is also accelerating in the management of non-performing loans. With regard to "unlikely to pay" loans, the former substandard, MPS has forecast a reduction of 4,5 billion by 2019 by around one billion and has already exceeded the target in October with a reduction of around 1,3 billion.
The meeting opened on Monday morning in the presence of 75,53% of the capital to resolve on the coverage of 5,3 billion losses and on the new statutory changes. After the bailout, the Ministry of Economy and Finance participates with 68,24%, Generali with 4,319%. The Bank holds treasury shares equal to 3,181% of the capital.
At the opening the outgoing president Alessandro Falciai, who he surprisingly resigned on Friday evening, took his leave of the shareholders explaining that the withdrawal of his candidacy for the next board of directors was an "independent choice" despite the opening of the investigation against him by the magistrates of the Savona prosecutor's office for the events of the Mondomarine company of which is the majority shareholder, did not cause him to lose the requisites for confirmation at the top of the bank. "My objectives in this matter are the same as those of the judiciary and I am sure that clarity will be clarified in the short term". Falciai added that the bank "is in safety" after five years of uncertainty at the end of a bailout process "that was by no means a given".
Today, Falciai continued, "there are all the premises for your and our bank to once again become an important player in the life of the country". Falciai then thanked the Treasury for the important support given to the bank and recalled the results obtained so far to get it back on track with the sale of non-performing loans and cost cutting while maintaining social peace. And he also thanked the city, gathering an applause from the small shareholders present in the room.
On the agenda, as we said, also the statutory changes. These include the abolition of the minimum quorum of 60% of the share capital for resolutions of the shareholders' meeting regarding amendments to the bylaws. An aspect at the time functional to justify, at least on a formal level and in line with the legislative provisions, the lack of control of the MPS Foundation over the bank. Today the Foundation owns 0,026% of Rocca Salimbeni, for a value of approximately 125 thousand euros. Previously, at the beginning of the 58s, it owned about 4,5% of the bank for a value of around XNUMX billion euros.
Also the modification of the articles of the Statute relating to the Board of Directors reflect the disappearance of the MPS Foundation from the members that count. The maximum number of directors drops from 17 to 15. The Treasury list with the most votes receives 12 directors, while the minority list registered by Generali is reserved three seats. First, the list with the most votes, the one headed by the MPS Foundation, had half of the directors, not the majority, also for the purpose of excluding the Foundation's control over the bank.
On the sidelines of the meeting, CEO Marco Morelli took stock of the current situation of MPS: “If anyone believes that the bank can return to the position it had a few years ago in a few months, they are wrong. The recovery path will last a very long time, we are not talking about science fiction, it is the war of 1915-18 in which one advances one meter and then sometimes goes back two. The bank has limited ability to maneuver compared to competitors, managers and employees is very clear, it must be clear to everyone, even the shareholders".
“We must be realistic – continued Morelli – I have never promised anything, but always given a clear and transparent picture. The bank has been stuck commercially for yearsThere must be no misunderstandings. What is the corporate future? A very hard future, the objectives of the plan depend on a reference framework of a certain type and discontinuity is needed. The board of directors will carefully evaluate the responsibilities of those who were there before and even before: in the light of the facts that will emerge, we will reserve any type of action to protect the bank's assets".
Unions on a war footing. A new texture for management has come out in the last few days. And the unions have written a letter to the Mef and to the European Commissioner for Competition, Margrethe Vestager. In recent days, the board of Monte dei Paschi, just two days after its forfeiture - writes the coordination of the Mps unions of Fabi, First Cisl, Fisac Cgil, Uilca and Unisin - would have resolved "the promotion of 49 executives and the provision of bonuses to about a thousand employees" with 'ad personam'."These decisions - we read - appear completely unmotivated both from an operational/organisational point of view and due to the consequent significant increase in costs which risk dangerously delaying the achievement of the set objectives by the European Commission for Banca Mps”. "Beyond the clear trade union opposition to an initiative in clear contrast to the company agreements in force, on which we reserve the right to intervene with any constitutionally envisaged instrument, we would like to know if the decisions taken by the MPS board of directors are compatible, or not, with respect to the European regulations in the event of authorization for so-called "state aid".
