The Steering Committee of the Ente Cassa di Risparmio di Firenze, which met under the chairmanship of Umberto Tombari, unanimously approved – on a proposal from the Board of Directors – the final balance for 2015. The 2015 financial year closed with a surplus of more than 89 million euros, a significant improvement compared to 2014 (approximately 33 million euros) and shareholders' equity of more than 1,5 billion euros, up by more than 200 million compared to 31 December 2014 (approximately 1,3, 10 billion euros). The capital gains realized on the sale of 85% of Banca Cassa di Risparmio di Firenze (approximately 168 million) and a stake in Intesa Sanpaolo (approximately XNUMX million) partly contributed to this result.
The divestment of bank equity investments started last year is in line with the adaptation to the Acri-MEF protocol and has made it possible to reduce the CRF entity's exposure to the banking sector from over 60% to approximately 38% , also considering the forward sale of another package of 90.000.000 Intesa Sanpaolo shares signed in December last year, from which a capital gain of around 120 million will emerge at the end of June. With the completion of this transaction, the Entity's stake in Intesa Sanpaolo drops to approximately 2%.
During 2015, the Organization disbursed approximately 28 million euros in support of 637 interventions divided into five different sectors: approximately 10 million euros for charity and philanthropy (35,6%); approximately 2 million euros for youth growth and training (7,4%); about 5,6 million euros for scientific and technological research (19,9%); approximately 9,2 million euros for art, cultural heritage and activities (32,8%) and approximately 1,2 million euros for environmental protection and quality (4,3%). At the end of 2015, the disbursement stabilization fund reached 60 million euro, an increase compared to the 43 million euro at the end of 2014.
“We are very satisfied with the results achieved in 2015, which testify to our institution's commitment to prudent and sound management, with the main objective of preserving the value of the assets, so as to guarantee a long-term support role for the local area. We have relied on an independent advisor of international level, Cambridge Associates, who supports us in determining efficient asset governance, identifying investment strategies and the best managers at an international level”, commented Umberto Tombari, President of Ente Cassa di Risparmio from Florence. “Thanks to the significant increase in assets, we have decided to 2 disburse 31 million euros in the area in 2016, against the 29 million initially envisaged, increasingly through dedicated tenders and ordinary tenders. We are working on strategic projects for the area in which we will involve private companies and institutions as partners: we will pay particular attention to transversal initiatives in the various sectors of intervention, aimed at training and integrating young people into the world of work, technological innovation, social housing and the redevelopment of Florence, understood as an opportunity to enhance some areas with new functions for citizens".
Charity and Philanthropy In 2015, the Organization supported the sector by approving the disbursement of around 10 million euros in favor of 191 initiatives, confirming the Organization's traditional attention towards the most fragile categories of the community. About a third of the resources were used in assistance and solidarity projects, such as the coverage of the Paolo Costoli swimming complex in Florence and the renovation of fifteen apartments of the ERP-Public Residential Building. Youth growth and training In 2015, the Organization approved the disbursement of approximately 2 million euros to support 64 projects in the sector of youth growth and training, confirming the growing commitment to finding solutions to solve the problem of youth unemployment. The Foundation was the promoter of the "Orienta-Drop out" project, aimed at containing early school leaving and of some professional training courses in the food and wine, hospitality and butchery sectors.
In 2015, the three-year project for the establishment of the "Florence School of Banking and Finance" was also launched, which will train future managers of the financial and banking sector in Europe. It is promoted by the Organization with the European University Institute (EUI) and aims to become the leading platform in Europe for training, research and comparative debate on the regulation and management of the banking and financial sectors. Scientific and technological research In 2015, the Organization approved the disbursement of approximately 5,6 million euros to support 156 projects in the scientific and technological research sector, confirming its support for the centers of excellence of the Polo Scientifico of Sesto Fiorentino. In this sector, the Organization experimented for the first time in 2015 the method of evaluating proposals thanks to the issuing of two tenders, in favor of rare diseases and young researchers under 35 in collaboration with the University of Florence. The Organization has also confirmed its commitment to technology transfer and innovation in the business world by supporting the Tetralab Project in collaboration with the Research and Innovation Foundation of the University of Florence and the Metropolitan City.
Art, activities and cultural heritage In 2015, the Organization disbursed around 9,2 million euros to support 206 projects in the art, activities and cultural heritage sector. In addition to the traditional interventions in support of the 3 main cultural institutions of the city (Florence Opera Theater Foundation, the Pergola Theater Foundation and Palazzo Strozzi Foundation), the Body has undertaken a new method of intervention aimed at extending the use of the city culture on the part of the younger generations. The most significant initiatives in this area include the project Ragazzi a Teatro and the experience of spreading music through the Abreu method in the Piagge district in collaboration with the Fiesole Music School. In the field of conservation of the city's cultural heritage, the institution is involved in the redevelopment project of the SS Annunziata.
Environmental protection and quality Once again in 2015, the Organization undertook to support the institutions that traditionally deal with the protection of the territory and its development with a view to environmental sustainability, such as the Accademia dei Georgofili. The organization disbursed around 1,2 million euros to support 20 projects aimed at finding useful solutions for the production of renewable energy and the conscious use of environmental resources. Ente Cassa di Risparmio di Firenze The Ente Cassa di Risparmio di Firenze, chaired by Umberto Tombari, is a foundation of banking origin born following the application of the so-called Amato Law (218/90) which led to the transfer of the banking activity to the newly established joint-stock company Cassa di Risparmio di Firenze Spa and gave the Ente Cassa the task of contributing, with the results of the administration of its assets, to the development of the reference territory. The sectors in which it mainly operates are: Art, cultural heritage and activities, Environmental protection and quality, Scientific research and technological innovation, Charity and philanthropy, Youth growth and education.
The Foundation operates both through its own projects and by supporting third-party initiatives which make it possible to achieve and satisfy the programmed objectives. It has also set up three instrumental foundations through which it intervenes indirectly for the conservation of the environmental and historical heritage, for the promotion of the territory and for the development of financial studies: Bardini and Peyron Monumental Parks Foundation, Technologies Foundation for Cultural Heritage and Crafts (Theme); Cesifin Foundation. He also gave life, together with Banca CR Firenze, to the Libraries Foundation of the Cassa di Risparmio di Firenze. In 2016, the Authority expects to disburse 31 million euros in the area (about 28 million disbursements in 2015). It holds shareholdings in Intesa Sanpaolo (2,01%), in Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (0,7%) and in Toscana Aeroporti (6,58%).
