The President of the Council Giorgia Meloni, over the course of over three hour press conference of the end of the year also referred to the reform of the TUF contained in the Capital Bill and in particular the new rules relating to the board of directors list. Few words, a quick response which however did not go unnoticed by the more attentive ears of the investors on Piazza Affari who interpreted his intervention as a assist for Francesco Gaetano Caltagirone and a foray into the struggle for control of Generali and Mediobanca.
Capital Bill: what Meloni said
The changes to the rules on compilation of lists of councilors of administration, introduced with the capital market bill, "does not risk driving away investments and making some large groups ungovernable", but serves to "limit the mechanism through which, in some cases, the boards of directors are perpetuated endlessly, regardless of the shareholders", clarified the Prime Minister, who then underlined: "the market likes a forecast that strengthens the weight of the shareholders". Therefore, he concluded about it: “It is one rule that brings investments closer" market.
The reference is to one of the provisions contained in the Capital Bill, currently under discussion in the Senate, which has sparked greater controversy and which aims to limit the use of council lists and strengthen minorities. According to what is foreseen, the board of directors' list must be proposed after the approval of two thirds of the directors and must contain within it a number of candidates one third higher than that of the directors to be elected.
The rule will take effect from 2025 and the first test could be Generali “where in 2022 Donnet was confirmed after a bitter clash between the board of directors list supported by Mediobanca (Leone's first shareholder at 13,1%) and the list presented by Caltagirone.
Not only that, the effect of the rule could also be felt on Mediobanca, where thanks to the new approach, Delfin and Caltagirone they would have the right to convene the meeting to re-elect the board.