Unicredit soars on the stock exchange +7,19% thanks to the profit for the second quarter which rose by 29,5% to 522 million and above the consensus estimates of analysts. In the first half, profits stopped at 1,034 billion, down 7,3% with revenues at 11,5 billion. On the balance sheet front, the Cet1 transitional improved to 10,52% and, including the transaction on Pioneer, stands at 10,92%. The fully loaded pro forma Cet1 ratio improved to 10,37% and stands at 10,84% including the current value of available-for-sale reserves and the Pioneer deal.
New regulations on the capital needs of banks in Europe "they will continue to arrive and they will no longer be soft for us but rather there will be new requests for additional capital", commented the managing director Federico Ghizzoni in a conference call with analysts, adding that for this reason the bank maintains a constant focus on the generation of capital. “The problem – he explained – is that you never know what the right numbers are. With the ECB "dialogue is very open, direct and transparent and I'm not particularly worried about the Srep", the Supervisory Review and Evaluation that the ECB is carrying out ad hoc on the bank. Ghizzoni said he was confident he could improve capital ratios beyond current levels thanks to organic capital generation.
“We announced the industrial plan in March 2014 – recalled Ghizzoni – and the target to be reached for 2016 was 10%. Now we are already well above it and this despite the high volatility recorded in some quarters since then”. The level of capital needed in the future will depend on the decisions of the ECB and on the outcome of the SREP conducted by Frankfurt which will be announced in the second half of the year.
The SrepIndeed, Ghizzoni explained to the analysts, foresees the start of the examination at the end of September, followed by the sending of an initial proposal to the banks which will be discussed with the European Supervisory Authority. Final numbers and announcements are expected in November. “Looking at our balance sheet and the communications made so far, we feel confident. Not because – continued Ghizzoni – we already know the numbers and not even because we are naïve, but because our budget hasn't deteriorated in the meantime, on the contrary, it has improved. So, there's no reason to be particularly concerned."
In any case, Ghizzoni indicated that the bank is "studying a whole series of measures to reduce costs and strengthen profitability of the Group, and consequently, the capitalisation” which will be presented in the second half of the year.
In the BoD that approved the six-monthly report, the resignation of general manager Roberto Nicastro also arrived on the table who, after eighteen years in the group, from October XNUMXst he will leave his proxies to Paolo Fiorentino, Marina Natale and Gianni Franco Papa. “In relation to the completely serene and composed differences of opinion on the company's strategic-organizational direction and the group's willingness to continue the process of simplifying its model, UniCredit and Roberto Nicastro have decided by mutual agreement to separate their ways from next October 5,39st”, reads the press release from the bank which awarded the manager a severance pay of XNUMX million euros.
Via Nicastro, the bank will launch a new organizational model which will no longer include the figure of the general manager. Nicastro's decision, Ghizzoni commented in fact during the conference call with analysts, "gives us the possibility of simplifying the managerial structure, thus making the decision-making process more incisive".
