"There's a governance process underway and I can't comment, but what I think is important for the market and investors is that this plan is fully operational and I don't think there will be any changes." In his first public appearance after the exclusion from the list that the board of directors Monte dei Paschi has presented in view of the meeting that will renew the board on April 15th, Louis Lovaglio reassures the audience of theMorgan Stanley's European financials conference regarding the imminent change in leadership of the Siena-based bank following his surprise dismissal. This decision, moreover, came just days after the green light for the new business plan. However, he hasn't commented on possible future moves, while rumors continue to swirl regarding his possible inclusion in the shortlist of candidates promoted by the entrepreneur. George Girondi, which holds a 3% stake in MPS. The answer to this last question will arrive in the next few days, however, as the lists must be submitted by Saturday, March 21st.
MPS, Lovaglio reassures: "There will be no changes to the plan."
"The plan works“The numbers are solid, the company is in the best condition it has been in a generation,” Lovaglio assured from London. I don't think there will be any changes", he added, "because it is already the result of the combination of the two previous plans, defined in the last five months." "We believe that what we have today allows us to generate relevant results and to guarantee significant remuneration to shareholders, in the order of approximately 16 billion overall." This obviously does not rule out the possibility of updating the plan in a year, particularly taking into account the impact of artificial intelligence: "It would be crazy not to think so," he clarified.
Then the manager took a little stone out of his shoe, claiming the enormous work done in Siena over the last four years: “When I arrived in February 2022, the group had a market capitalization of almost 300 million; until last week, we were at 28 billion.”
"I think one of the targets I mentioned in one of the last meetings in London was that the next step will be to reach €50 billion," he added. "I think that's what we need to do. The company is very solid, despite some transition issues in terms of governance, which I think will be clarified." "The plan is there, the ability to generate profits is there, and it's so solid that it will be difficult to change," he concluded.
Lovaglio confirms synergies with Mediobanca
"I 700 million synergies"from the integration of Mediobanca" that we announced at the beginning, practically a year ago, are confirmed. And my personal view is that we can achieve even more" Lovaglio said, speaking about the integration with Piazzetta Cuccia and future prospects. "Once the management teams are in place," the banker assured, "the implementation of the plan will be accelerated."
The transfer of bankers from one financial institution to another is "normal," added Lovaglio, who said it would be "dangerous if we didn't have a clear plan and something to commit to. I understand that there was uncertainty at the beginning, but now it's clear that we are building Mediobanca with a focus on corporate and investment banking and on private banking,” he said in response to those who asked him about the “instability” in Mediobanca’s business due to the departure of some bankers.
“There will be a dedicated company, an iconic brand, a rewarding compensation system and one of the best places to work. Why would they want to leave it? To go where? – continued the banker – Mediobanca remains, we don't want to change their ability to be unique thanks to the high level of expertise they have and I believe the level of remuneration is quite attractive”. “We are becoming one of the most attractive companies in Italy and I think it would be interesting to be part of this project,” he concluded.
Lovaglio: "We're evaluating the market; without M&As, capital will go to the shareholders."
“It is clear that we have excess capital and we are carefully monitoring all opportunities value creation opportunities that may appear on the market. The approach is that it's not size that matters, but the ability to add value," Lovaglio said in London. "Clearly, we can't hold onto this capital forever and we need to have a relatively short horizon," he added. "The next 12 months will be very important for us; if no opportunities arise, it would clearly make a lot of sense remunerate our shareholders better".
