Intesa Sanpaolo, Messina: “From Esg a reservoir of works against cuts for digital transition”

MILANO – “Although it is likely that in the medium-term future the digital transition will create new jobs, different from the current ones, there is a concrete possibility that jobs will be lost during the transition currently underway”, said the CEO of Intesa Sanpaolo during his lectio magistralis on the occasion of the award ceremony of the honorary degree in Finance and Economics Science at the Aula Magna del Bo at theUniversity of Padua.

“For us – added Messina – people are a resource and at the same time the role of social, as well as environmental, responsibility that an institution like ours must offer (and which our investors ask of us) opens up new room for maneuver even in this sense. In Intesa, in 5 years and until 2027 we have made 1.5 billion euros available for social activities, a complex system of actions to support the territory which will see 1,000 people involved. In addition to being a tool for positioning and creating value in the territory, the ESG will therefore also be able to represent an employment reservoir capable of keeping the professionals already present in the company anchored in their workplace who will be able to develop their skills at the service of the community, he added.

“Public debt weakens us at the tables that count”

Among the many topics touched on, Messina focused on the issue of public debt. Public debt weakens our position at the tables that count. If we were able to get closer to a debt/GDP ratio of around 120%, similar to France’s current one, we could more easily assert a real economic condition that no other EU country can boast”, he said.

“It is fundamental for Italy that Germany returns to growth”

Compared to the current economic situation, Messina underlined the importance of German growth as a support for the European economy. The energy crisis and the pandemic have brought “Germany into a uniquely difficult condition, with a dependence on Russia, and with an outlet market, that of China, with greater difficulties.

This should not please us, because Germany is a fundamental interlocutor for Italy. To guarantee the growth of the Italian economy, Germany must grow again”, said the manager. On the other hand, Messina underlined, in the same period, “the great work done by Italian entrepreneurs, often unrecognised, which has brought the country, to have the companies that are the most solid in Europe”. Another objective element, the families: “Italian families have always had savings higher than the European average, and have continued to maintain it even in the conditions determined by the pandemic crisis, at the same time maintaining a level of debt that is the lowest among European countries.”

“Italy is the best positioned country in Europe”

“Looking therefore at the pillars of the economy, businesses and families – added Messina – Italy is the best positioned country in Europe, because it has strong factors linked to elements of the real economy”. The Italian problem of public debt remains: “public debt penalizes us, because it determines a higher spread – he concluded – But bank deposits, during the pandemic, grew and are set aside, and can be a growth tool to earn two points of GDP”.