In the first nine months of 2019, the five main Italian banks they recorded on average a sharp increase in profits (+38%), which is accompanied by a reduction in costs and bad debt write-downs (-10,1%). However, at the same time, the institutes continued to reduce staff and branches. The bank union First Cisl points the finger against this decision, whose research office has produced a report on the financial statements of the first three quarters of Intesa Sanpaolo, Unicredit, Banco Bpm, Mps and Ubi.
In detail, the analysis shows that, between January and September, the profits some Big-5 have exceeded altitude 8,7 billion, posting a 38,5% year-on-year surge.
The reduction in earnings contributed decisively to such a positive result on the earnings front credit write-downs from 5,1 to 4,6 billion (-10,1%), which led to the incidence of net non-performing loans (NPL ratio) below 4%. It also reduces the weight of new non-performing loans, which, as announced by the Bank of Italy, fell to 1,5%.
As for the ratio of operating costs to revenues, dropped to 54,7%, from 55,2% in the first nine months of 2018.
The union points out that, at the same time, the banks also benefited from “a strong increase in labor productivity – writes First Cisl – The net operating profit per employee, i.e. the operating profit net of credit write-downs, rises by 6,8%”. Core revenues per employee (interest margin and net commissions) remained essentially stable.
“The banks are celebrating, but only they are celebrating – comments the general secretary of the trade union, Riccardo Colombani – The drop in employees and branches is dramatic: one thousand branches less than in September 2018 (-6,6%), employees reduced by 3,6%. A real hemorrhage."
The data from the latest quarterly reports “unequivocally demonstrate that the emergency is over – adds the number one banker of the CISL – but also that the lemon has already been squeezed. It's time to clearly tell the bankers that the era of cuts is over”.
According to Colombani, it is not by continuing to cut that “one can hope to see revenues grow. The right path is to revive employment and wages, as we ask in the national contract renewal platform. The 135 euro increase offered by the ABI is absolutely not enough. The banks – concludes Colombani – cannot think only of remunerating the shareholders, they must also pay the productivity of the work to the bankers”.
