Popolare di Vicenza at the crossroads between capital increase and listing on the Stock Exchange. The CEO Francesco Iorio said he was confident in the success of the operation, having reduced the risk of the free float and considering the success of the IPO to be "fairly certain". Above all, the manager clarified that after the increase, the Bank will have a surplus of 550 million available with respect to the capital requirements requested by the ECB, which will constitute a useful reserve for growth.
CAPITAL AND GROWTH
“The ECB has asked us to have 10,25% of Cet1 as a Srep target. With the 1,5 billion capital increase, the bank will have a certain excess capital of 550 million the next day and will therefore have a Cet1 higher than 12,5%, around 12,7%”, stated Iorio in the press conference with which he presented the institute's forthcoming listing on the Stock Exchange. The bank, noted Iorio, must make a capital increase of 1,5 billion, but “the reason is the presence within the bank of 1,1 billion of financed capital. All the other negative phenomena that we have detected, the bank could have easily tolerated them without making a capital increase or being able to do it at different times”, Iorio said again. Of these 1,1 billion of financed capital, Iorio then estimated that "466 million will unfortunately not return because the shareholders to whom we lent them cannot repay it and another 353 million will not return because the bank is weak from a legal point of view" . The total is therefore 819 million.
Another 321 million, however, "will be able to return and become the bank's capital", he continued. Banca Popolare di Vicenza will be able to sell "non-strategic assets" such as the stake in Arca sgr and Prestinuova, from which it will be able to obtain new assets for 150 million.
LISTING AND INCREASE
Iorio is confident that the capital increase operation envisaged by the IPO will make it possible to reach the minimum free float quota (25%) necessary for listing on the Stock Exchange. “I am quite calm that the free float issue will not arise and that the bank will have many possibilities, if not the almost certainty, of being listed”. The Ad Iorio reassured that he too will personally participate in the Bank's capital increase.
“The market likes the bank”, said Iorio and if the bank were to go on the stock market at 0,38 as a multiple of tangible equity and therefore at 0,10 euro,” that would be a wonderful result. It is a beautiful value in some ways to be able to place it at 0,38. Ten cents is a big number compared to what is happening in the banking market in general,” he said.
According to Iorio, "the bank can create value on its own but also with others" and the ECB is in close contact with the Popolare di Vicenza "we have not done anything that has not been shared with the ECB", assured Iorio. “I am quite calm that the issue of the free float will not exist in the end and that the bank will have very many chances if not the almost certainty of being listed”.
Regarding the interest shown by the Fortress Fund, "we don't close the door to anyone," said Iorio. Iorio then clarified that on Wednesday, the first day of the offer for the institute's listing on the Stock Exchange, “there were some orders. I don't want to give dimensions but there were some orders yesterday”.
DEPOSITS DOWN
Since the beginning of 2016, Banca Popolare di Vicenza has recorded a drop in deposits of approximately 700-800 million, equal to -6% compared to the end of 2015. The drop, in detail, occurred from January to March, while “Nothing happened in April,” Iorio specified. "We had a further outflow of funding around the two meetings", he added, noting that in any case the bank "didn't lose customers but it did lose assets". Therefore, customers moved the part of the deposits exceeding 100 thousand euros “for fear of being included in the new European bailin legislation. And how can you blame him"?
LIABILITY ACTION
"President Dolcetta and I were in favor of the liability action", concluded the CEO of Pop Vicenza, commenting on the decision of the last assembly not to proceed against the old top management. "I believe that today - Iorio said in any case - there is all the evidence, even formalized, so that the new board can make a very informed choice".
