A glimmer of light is finally opening for the recapitalization of Banca Popolare di Vicenza and Veneto Banca. This is the result of the four-way meeting that took place yesterday in Brussels between the EU Antitrust, the Supervision of the ECB, the Treasury and the Bank of Italy. At the end of the meeting, deemed satisfactory by all, a spokesman for the European Commission said that a "solution is possible in the coming weeks" for the recapitalization of the two Veneto banks. Of course we still have to find the balance between the different needs but at least we can see a light at the end of the tunnel.
The fact that the European Supervision of the ECB also took part in the Brussels meeting suggests that Frankfurt is moving towards a declaration of solvency by the two banks, which is preliminary to the green light for the capital increase and the entry of the Treasury as a solution for the bailout and to avoid recourse to the bail-in, which would weigh heavily on the shoulders of shareholders, bondholders and, ultimately, account holders over €100.
As the Venetian banks themselves have been repeating for days, time however is vital and very little is left to avoid the shipwreck because the losses of the two institutions are growing and are increasingly impressive. Yesterday Veneto Banca officially certified that it had lost a billion and a half in 2016, of which 1,3 for adjustments resulting from credit losses. A lower loss than that of Popolare di Vicenza (1,9 billion euros) but almost double that suffered the previous year, when the Montebelluna bank lost "only" 881 million.
