"The government does not intend to look at Cassa as a tool to resolve merely contingent issues in the short term, but wants to take a long-term perspective, identifying guidelines for opening the country to new markets and implementing technological and digital development". The prime minister, Giuseppe Conte, said this in Rome on Monday, speaking at the celebrations for the 170th anniversary of the Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (which was also attended by the head of state, Sergio Mattarella). The implied, but evident, reference is to the hypotheses of involvement of the CDP in the rescue of the former Ilva of Taranto (after the farewell announced by ArcelorMittal) and in the restructuring of Alitalia.
Moreover, by statute the Cassa Depositi e Prestiti cannot intervene directly in companies with a red balance sheet. However, the president of the CDP, Giovanni Gorno Tempini, clarified on the sidelines of the event that the group could "think of playing a role" on the former Ilva through its subsidiaries and support for local authorities.
Beyond the official positions expressed by Conte in the public discourse, in fact, according to some indiscretions, the Premier and the leaders of the Cdp - on the sidelines of the celebrations - would have talked about the possibility of involving the Cassa in the rescue of the former Ilva if the attempts to reconnect relations with ArcelorMittal should fail. CDP's intervention could take place through one or more subsidiaries, which would probably need to be supported by another industrial partner. Second Republic, there was no shortage of resistance from the top management of Cdp, but in the end the pressure from the Treasury, a shareholder of the Cassa with 80%, had the desired effect.
GUALTIERI: "CDP WILL BE THE PROTAGONIST OF OUR GREEN INVESTMENT PLAN"
Going back to the official celebrations, the Economy Minister, Roberto Gualtieri, underlined that "the Cassa is an integral part of the history of Italy" and that "today it is a real National Promotional Bank, a market institution with a public function, which plays a decisive role in the development of the country. Over time, the financing activities for local authorities have been joined by those in support of SMEs, the export and internationalization of companies and startups. The new unit Infrastructure development will be able to provide fundamental assistance to local administrations. In addition, the launch of the new program will take place in the next few years Invest EU provides for the possibility for national promotional banks to directly access the European guarantee without going through the EIB. The CDP will thus be able to be the protagonist of that green investment plans which sees the government engaged in tackling the challenge of sustainability. By intersecting the European plan with the local one, CDP keeps faith with its original spirit”.
COUPONS AND POSTAL PAPERBOOKS ARE WORTH 260 BILLION
Cdp, which is entrusted with the task of managing the postal savings of over 27 million Italians, announces that the total value of postal savings bonds and savings books has reached 260 billion euros. Of these, one billion were collected in the last year – especially among millennials – through online channels. In 2018, the two basic postal savings instruments thus confirmed themselves as the main source of funding for Cassa Depositi e Prestiti.
NEW GRAPHIC FORM OF POSTAL BONDS
During the celebrations, CDP presented the new graphic form of postal savings bonds, created in collaboration with the State Mint and Poste Italiane. For the new issues, an iconography inspired by river gods will be used which refers to the tradition of paper titles, enriched by the presence of elements that represent the current sectors of Cdp's activity.
THE CELEBRATORY STAMP
For the 170th anniversary, a celebratory stamp was also issued, printed by the Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato. The cartoon depicts the pediment of the building of the CDP's Roman headquarters, on which the logo of the 170th anniversary of the foundation stands out.
GORNO TEMPINI: "WE RECONCILE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND PROTECTION OF SAVINGS"
"For 170 years Cassa Depositi e Prestiti has been the protagonist in supporting infrastructure and the real economy, investments that require patient capital and which are crucial for the country's growth - said Giovanni Gorno Tempini, president of the Cassa - CDP is an institution unique, perfect expression of the union between public and private. For this reason, we want to reconcile a sustainable development strategy with the protection of the savings entrusted to us, in line with the principles of our Statute".
PALERMO: “CDP CONTINUES TO CHANGE WITH THE NEW PLAN”
The managing director, Fabrizio Palermo, added that “in these 170 years the mission of CDP has remained the same, as have the inspiring motives that have guided its evolution throughout history. However, today we find ourselves in a more complex national, European and global scenario: for this reason, the CDP continues to change, broadening its horizon and extending its skills at the service of the country. For Cassa Depositi e Prestiti the 2019-2021 Business Plan, launched eleven months ago, represents a change of pace, a new drive that seeks to leverage innovation, inclusion and sustainability with a completely new approach, based on a more solid relationship with the territory, on the desire to to network and on the financial and industrial skills that make CDP a unique institution in the national context”.
HISTORY OF THE CDP
Established by the Parliament of the Kingdom of Sardinia on 18 November 1850 and already used by Cavour, after 1861 the Cassa Depositi e Prestiti helped to unify the internal market of the newborn Kingdom of Italy by financing infrastructures (railways, ports, roads and telegraph network). In 1875 CDP was entrusted with the task of collecting postal savings to allocate them to the modernization of the economy. Among the uses of the Cassa, loans to Municipalities for the construction of roads, schools, water and sewage systems prevail. A decisive step to boost the collection of Cdp then comes in 1924, with the establishment of postal savings bonds.
The 1983 reform grants the Cassa greater patrimonial and accounting autonomy. With the formal reorganization approved in 1999, the Ministry of the Treasury authorized the Institute to receive deposits directly from public administrations and entities and to place securities with financial intermediaries.
In 2003 Cdp was transformed into a Spa (70% to the Mef and 30% to 66 foundations of banking origin). The Cassa thus leaves the perimeter of the Public Administration and transforms itself into a "market unit", required to operate on the market in the same way as a private investor.
Three years later, the ECB classified the Cassa as a "financial and monetary institution", as in the case of the French CDC-Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations (born in 1816) and the German KFWKreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (1949).
In 2012 the Cassa took control of Sace and Simest, companies supporting exports and internationalisation, and of Fintecna, which controls Fincantieri. This is how the Cdp Group was born, whose investments are now divided into five areas: Cdp Spa (Eni, Poste, Tim); Cdp Reti (Italgas, Snam, Terna); Cdp Equity (Ansaldo Energia, Saipem, Open Fiber, Bonifiche Ferraresi, Th Resort); Fsi Investimenti (including: Sia, TreviGroup, Valvitalia, Inalca); Fintecna (Fincantieri).
