Full speed ahead. There is a long way to go to limit the damages because, compared to the beginning of the year, the banking sector is experiencing a drop of around 30%, a higher drain than the rest of the price list which has made one rush to the bedside of the system bunch of doctors. The last to mobilize, in chronological order, was the European Parliament which, under pressure from Italian deputies (and from the ABI lobby) is studying a measure to freeze the negative impact of the adjustment of the value of securities in the trading portfolio at market prices for the current year and up to 2022 to then drop to 50% in 2024. The effect of the sterilization of the so-called Mark to Market would give greater stability to the capital ratios of the sector by sterilizing one of the weakest points of the Bel Paese system. Even so explains the rally of Banco Bpm, both +3,3% at 12 ahead of Bper +2,4%. Nor does it stop the race of the duelists: Intesa+3%, Ubi +3,2%.
Meanwhile, the march of slows down but does not stop Monte Paschi, +0,30 this morning, consolidating the progress of the last few sessions (+14% from Friday), after the European Commission was open to the establishment of the Sienese institute's bad bank, up 2% yesterday, after +12% on Friday. The bank has clarified that the operation involves, among other things, the demerger of a substantial portion of non-performing loans. In short, Italian banks are also gaining ground in the light of the positive framework of the "Next Generation EU" plan and the forthcoming strengthening of the ECB bazooka which will be launched on Thursday by Christine Lagarde.
Thus the premises were laid for new system balances, well illustrated by the market response to Leonardo del Vecchio's request to increase the market share to 20%. Mediobanca +4% in order to be able to play a leading role in Generals +3,22% at the end of the morning, adding his share in Leone (4,07%) to that of Piazzetta Cuccia (about 13%). Mr. Luxottica's advance, observed with great suspicion by the political world, is justified by the objective weakness of Italian capitalism unable to allow Mediobanca to compete in investment banking and capital markets despite the initiatives taken in France and London . In the words of Alessandro Penati, “Mediobanca must decisively change its pace and strategy, because diversification from a conglomerate, which has worked well so far, is no longer sustainable, as demonstrated by Del Vecchio's takeover attempt. If not him today, it will be someone else tomorrow. Management entrenchment can only postpone the problem”.
But the intervention of the king of eyewear probably does not represent the definitive solution, given the age of the great entrepreneur but also due to the fragility of his group's governance. The big jobs in the banking world have just begun.
