“Il Ilva case represents a complex situation in Italy: we have one of the best investors in the world, Mittal, who wants to invest in our country but due to the uncertainty linked to the granting of a possible penal shield, a difficult situation has arisen from a negotiating point of view for the Italian government. However, I believe that there is still room for negotiation". He stated it the CEO of Intesa Sanpaolo, Carlo Messinain an interview with Boomberg TV.
Messina then added that “Ilva is undoubtedly a strategic asset for the country. Not only is it a delicate issue in terms of the environment, health and employment of workers in the city of Taranto and Southern Italy but it is also a strategic issue being the second largest steel producer in Europe. I therefore believe it is essential to reach an agreement with Mittal. However, from my point of view, in case an agreement cannot be reached, the Government should evaluate the possibility of nationalizing Ilva even if potentially in conflict with the Community rules".
"The number one option - concluded the CEO of Intesa Sanpaolo - remains to find an agreement with Mittal, because it is a question of reputation for the countrymeans that Italy is a place where you can invest and where you can implement investment plans. Definitely the steel industry is experiencing a difficult time and something has changed since the beginning of the negotiations but if today we are not able to reach plan A, then we need to move on to plan B, also evaluating a nationalisation, otherwise we will lose a strategic asset”.
Meanwhile, Intesa Sanpaolo has also decided to give a concrete signal of closeness to the Ilva workers: the bank has decided, and Unicredit has done the same, to give the possibility to those who are its customers among the group's workers and suppliers, Of suspend the installments of mortgages and personal loans for a period of up to 12 months, thus accepting the FABI proposal.
