Few know it and few care about it, but the new European rules – not only those on crisis management, from which the controversial issue arose bail in, but especially those on non-performing loans (Npl) and on new accounting principles (IFRS 9) – are destined to completely revolutionize the way of banking and in particular the relationship between bank and company.
The new rules, especially the so-called Addendum of the ECB on NPLs, risk opening the way again, as warned by the Governor of the Bank of Italy, Ignazio Visco, at the credit crunch, to the strict selection and rationing of credit which can bring medium, small and micro enterprises to their knees, especially in a cyclical phase in which the Italian economy is seen to be slowing down and which great political unknowns and in a perspective in which the accommodating monetary policy of Mario Draghi's ECB is destined to leave the scene.
There is no illusion that in the short term the European rules could change for the better, not only because they are too recent and because regulatory innovations on the European table must be unanimously approved but also because the Eurosceptic orientation of the new Italian government is viewed with distrust by Brussels and the major member states of the European Union, starting with France and Germany.
However, this does not mean that there is nothing more to be done and that banks and businesses must resign themselves to the passive application of the new rules. Far from it. But we need foresight, imagination and planning. It is exactly in this key that, in a recent training meeting in Livorno dedicated to local companies, the Bcc of Castagneto Carducci, the first cooperative credit bank on the Tuscan Tyrrhenian coast and Maremma, has launched the innovative proposal of a Rating for SMEs.
“We must realize – explains the Director General of the Bcc, Fabrizio Mannari – that the new European banking rules push the bank-company relationship in a different perspective from the past, which goes beyond the simple granting and control of credit, but which requires a growing approach of sharing and consultancy. Banks must get to know companies better and better and companies must open up and let us get to know each other better in order to find a meeting point of mutual benefit”.
It is obvious that the most dynamic local banks have a competitive advantage over other credit institutions, precisely because they have always done and do the importance of qualitative information and customer knowledge as their strong point to be managed professionally, together with accurate but not aseptic analysis of company financial statements. But we must also consider the fact that the meshes have become tighter because the Bccs, having grouped themselves into the national parent companies (Cassa Centrale Banca for the Bcc of Castagneto) will henceforth be subject to the joint supervision of the ECB ( for the parent companies) and by the Bank of Italy for the individual CCBs.
“The rating for small and medium-sized companies, which we already offer free to our customers but which we will extend to all companies that request it from September, is – adds Mannari – a big step forward in the bank-company relationship and is a fundamental passport for companies on the credit market where they will be able to present themselves with an undisputed reliability index which will allow them to become more visible to customers and suppliers, to access credit more easily and to reduce financing costs”.
How will the Rating for SMEs created by the Bcc of Castagneto Carducci be constructed? This was explained by the young Head of Risk Management of the bank, Matteo Serri, according to which the new index must be based on historical knowledge of the customer and its projects but also on the new guiding rules of European banking legislation, with an eye on the company's debt/EBITDA ratio, the amount and dynamics of its bank debts due within the year, the trend in turnover and EBITDA, the level of capitalization and the overall financial balance of the company.
the ratign for SMEs is an interesting initiative, in step with the times, which deserves to be disseminated throughout the banking system and which can change the relationship between banks and companies for the better, especially in a country where large companies are almost disappeared and where instead medium-sized but above all small, very small and micro companies are teeming.
