News in chiaroscuro for Banca Carige, which returns to profit in the first half of the year, but also receives a Antitrust fine of one million euros. The Competition Authority speaks of "unfair commercial practices, as they are aggressive", implemented by the Bank to recover its credits. In particular, the company allegedly sent summons to the office of a single justice of the peace, different from the one with territorial jurisdiction for consumers residing in other jurisdictions.
As for the accounts, however, at the halfway point of 2015 Carige records profits of 16,7 million euros, after the loss of 45,5 million in the first half of last year and the red of 45,4 million in the first three months of this year.
The result, however, benefits from the contribution of non-recurring items for 68 million euros deriving from the reversal to the income statement of the positive AFS reserve of the insurance companies whose sale was formalized in the second quarter.
From an operational point of view, the interest margin it fell by 20,6% to 148,4 million, also reflecting the strong reduction in the government securities portfolio, which has almost halved from the end of the first half of 2014 to date, to 3,2 billion.
I non-performing loans gross loans rose by 4,6% to 6,8 billion and represent 27,4% of the group's total gross loans, but the aggregate substantially stabilized over the quarter thanks also to a strong revision of the loan portfolio.
In particular, the Bank has defined agreements of restructuring of 813 million previously stranded positions (a total of €1,6 billion also considering the positions for which an agreement was reached or approved after 30 June).
Le sufferings gross amounts to 3,3 billion (+5,8%) and are equal to 13,2% of total gross loans.
This morning the Banca Carige stock on the Stock Exchange earns 4%, to 1,753 euros.
