Profits at 5 billion in 2023, 2 billion buyback e savings of one billion in Western Europe, to be made mainly with 8 thousand redundancies and the closure of 500 branches. These are the main numbers of the new one business plan 2020-2023 presented on Tuesday by Unicredit.
“We prefer buybacks to mergers – explains the CEO, Jean-Pierre Mustier - And only small bolt-on acquisitions (i.e. that integrate the bank's activities, ed) will be taken into consideration".
The financial goals include a ROTE 10 at or above 8 percent for the entire plan and a Net income of 5 billion in 2023, with a growth ofearning per share equal to about 12% in the period 2018-2023. Between dividends e share buybacks, Unicredit aims to distribute 40% of the underlying net profit in the period 2020-2022, a percentage that will rise to 50% in 2023.
For cost cutting, the goal is to achieve a cut of 10,2 billion in 2023, with an aggregate drop of 0,2% from 2018 to the end of the plan. These indications come shortly after the publication of a report by Oliver Wyman on the cuts that Italian banks should make in the coming years to maintain the current level of profitability.
On the side of non-performing loans, the new Unicredit plan plans to continue the disposal of npl with the rundown of the Non Core portfolio confirmed by the end of 2021, and non core non-performing credit exposures (NPE) below €9 billion by the end of 2019 and below €5 billion by the end of 2020. The ratio between gross NPEs and total gross loans is expected below 3,8 percent in 2023.
Finally, as recently reiterated by Mustier, the project to create is confirmed a subholding based in Italy (unlisted) to bring together key overseas subsidiaries (with the exception of those based in Ireland and Luxembourg) and optimize Mrel requirements over the medium term.
The reaction of the unions against the personnel cuts was furious. “Either the cuts fail or it will be a tough fight” said the secretary of the CGIL, Maurizio Landini.
