It is not a reality but the birth of a second group of CCBs as an alternative to that of Federcasse seems to be approaching day after day, as the Renzi reform of cooperative credit currently under implementation allows after a wait of decades.
The gist of the meeting that took place at the Bank of Italy during the week between the head of Supervision, Carmelo Barbagallo, and the heads of the major organizations of the cooperative banking movement, is a substantial go-ahead to the second group they have always thought of the Trentino CCBs and which could aggregate other CCBs from the North, Tuscany, Centre, South and the islands of Italy which resent the bureaucratic and authoritarian vision of Federcasse.
However, Barbagallo clarified that the Bank of Italy will not make concessions to anyone and will rigorously apply the rules of the reform and the Italian and European supervisory instructions.
In other words, whoever wants to set up a new national group of CCBs will have to have assets of at least one billion euro, submit to the supervision of the ECB in the event that the total assets are over 30 billion and check (also with an eye to the appointments of top management) that all member banks are inspired by criteria of sound and prudent management.
Outside of the groups, however, the CCBs will operate which have taken advantage of the way out provided for by the reform and which have applied to the Bank of Italy to maintain their independence in the form of a joint stock company, such as the CCB of Cambiano, which will merge with Banca Agci, such as Cassa Padana and Chianti Banca.
The birth of a second national group of CCBs is looming, an alternative to the one led by Federcasse and represented primarily by the CCBs of Trentino to which about fifteen other CCBs from the rest of Italy could join.
