The crosshairs of the markets on Italian banks, now affected by a wave of prolonged sales, is the result of a "baseless smear campaign” against the credit institutions of our country. This is the opinion expressed by the managing director of Intesa San Paolo, Charles Messina, during his speech at the "Start City" conference in Florence.
"These days the banking system is unjustly the victim of a smear campaign that is taking place without any foundation", said Messina, who described the emphasis placed on the issue of non-performing loans in recent weeks as "incredible".
As for bad banks which will arise following the agreement between the Treasury and the European Commission – and that for the moment those who invest in the stock market don't like them –, have “an important value that will be understood by the markets”, added the manager.
According to Messina, "in the end what matters are the fundamentals and not the reactions of the markets that one day they rise and one day they fall. This is one more tool that adds to the possibility of recovering the non-performing loans of Italian banks, which are not in as bad shape as reported".
While awaiting the details of the Government's provision, the number one of Intesa invited not to put “too much emphasis on what will be the terms of any levels of coverage identified by the provisions. What matters is the value of the collateral of each bank and of each operation. There are no average values and average prices”.
