The care of nationalization it would be worse than the disease. This is the premier's opinion Mario Monti on one of the most discussed hypotheses in recent days to improve the fortunes of Ps, overwhelmed by the derivatives scandal. "The reduction of the Foundation's share in the capital of Monte dei Paschi di Siena and an increase in the State's share could be a last resort and prove inevitable if the Monte persists in serious difficulties - the Professor told Radio 24 -, but this would mean partial nationalization. And in the past, even state banks gave rise to interweaving between banks and politics”.
As for the possibility of oblige the Foundation to sell further shares on the market in exchange for the Monti bonds, Monti underlined that “it would quite correspond to what Profumo said: finding a strong long-term financial partner. But we have to see if the market responds. Could it be desirable? We need to see what guarantees of reliability and good behavior the new owner gives”.
In any case, the Premier reiterated that “the problematic situation of Monte does not mean that the Italian banking system is in a problematic situation, and it's not. But complete clarity must be clarified, even on the criminal aspects ”.
As regards the Monti bonds, the Professor reiterated what he already specified yesterday by Treasury Minister Vittorio Grilli: "They are not a gift - said the Prime Minister -, they are not a non-repayable transfer, but a loan with very high interest, 9%, therefore the taxpayer is protected and, should there ever be an inability to repay the capital , unlike the Tremonti bonds, the shares would pass to the State”.
Finally, a reflection on the role of Bank of Italy: “The powers were there, and there were interventions too. We have seen the change of top management, also following the intervention of the supervisory authorities. They were not enough, but if documents are concealed this also creates problems for supervision".
Rather, "the topic of banking supervision is largely a European competence: the role of Bank of Italy remains important, but even more important is the assimilation of best practices by the various central banks". In any case, “the banking union is even more important and supervision is an essential component. The ultimate accountability of the ECB is fundamental. There has been and there is resistance in some countries, but the majority of competent opinion on the matter sees the single supervisory project as a solid project that needs to be implemented”, concluded Monti.
