The accounts of Ubi Banca improve, closing the 2015 financial year with a net profit at 195,1 million euro with an increase of 33,2% over the previous year, net of non-recurring items. The dividend is also growing: shareholders will be offered a coupon of 11 cents per share compared to 8 cents last year (+37,5%). Despite this, in mid-morning the stock is the worst of the Ftse Mib: loses more than 16% below 3 euros per share and ended up in a volatility auction.
Yet the accounts did not lack other positive indications: the consolidated net result, for example, amounted to 116,8 million compared to the loss of 752 million in the previous year following the recognition of 883 million for impairment. During the year, UBI also strengthened its capital ratios. The Cet1 phase in rises to 12,08% compared to the SREP requirement of 9,25%. The fully loaded Cet1 stands at 11,62%. During the year the situation of non-performing loans has improved. Gross non-performing loans fell by 1,6% to 13,4 billion, while net impaired loans fell by 1,9% to 9,7 billion. Furthermore, new flows from performing loans to non-performing loans are down sharply, in the fourth quarter -15% on the previous one and -25% on the same period of the previous year.
The quarterly evolution of Ubi Banca's interest margin in 2016 is expected to grow compared to the minimum level of the last quarter of 2015. The bank, according to a note, expects that net commissions will also benefit in 2016 from the process of recomposition of total deposits in favor of managed savings and from the gradual recovery of loans to customers.
“The only thing that interests us in this moment of market storm is to give the maximum demonstration of the solidity of our institution and the generation of synergies within us. Right now it doesn't seem like a market that allows you to defocus on the bank and focus on M&A. We held our talks, we checked whether there were possibilities of this type, these possibilities do not exist today ”. This was stated by the managing director of Ubi Banca, Victor Massiahanswering journalists' questions.
When asked in particular about the possibility of an aggregation with Mps, Massiah replied: “At the moment I am ruling out a merger, at the moment the conditions are not there. Then in life I'm used to not excluding anything, so you never know – he added – But right now we have decided to focus on ourselves ”. An attitude that the institution has chosen to adopt on the entire M&A chapter: "If opportunities arise for real value creation, we are ready to evaluate them - explained Massiah - otherwise, if there are things of excessive complexity, we are absolutely not interested".
