The public resources of 20 billion allocated by the Government to recapitalize and secure Italian banks are "more than sufficient", even if a third will be absorbed by Monte dei Paschi. This is what the Governor of the Bank of Italy, Ignazio Visco, claimed this morning, speaking at the Modena congress of Assiom Forex, the association of treasurers and money traders.
This does not mean that the restructuring work of the banks is over but rather that it must proceed expeditiously by reviewing the traditional business model, reducing costs and accelerating the disposal of problem loans, considering that today NPLs still amount to 88 billion euro and they weigh down the banks by reducing their profitability and the possibility of disbursing new loans to households and businesses.
Visco then made a strong appeal to the banks to speed up the implementation of both the cooperative credit reform ("More groups are compatible with the spirit of the reform") and that of cooperative banks, which he defined as a "necessary reform" to strengthen its capital endowment and improve its governance. The Governor also defended the Via Nazionale circular, contested by the Council of State, on the gradual reimbursement of shareholders who exercise the right of withdrawal in Popolari that transform into joint stock companies, explaining that it aims to "preserve the patrimonial integrity of the banks ” in question.
The Governor also took the opportunity to solicit new mergers between the Popolari after the one between Banco Popolare and Bpm which led to the birth of the third Italian bank.
On a general level, Visco urged politicians to guarantee stability and reforms to support the recovery of the economy by avoiding the risks deriving from the markets in a phase of uncertainty and he did not fail to express concern about the new US protectionism which could have negative effects on the global growth.
