In the negotiations for the purchase of Monte dei Paschi di Siena by Unicredit there is a fact that should reassure. In the last ten years, the credit sector at European level has registered about 360,000 layoffs, in the same period of crisis the Italian banks have not fired anyone. A buffer was provided by the bank redundancy fund which ensures workers access to early retirement if they reach the minimum retirement requirements in the seven years following the termination of the employment relationship. A shock absorber that guarantees, in short, up to seven years of salary, although reduced by about 20%, ferrying workers to the retirement goal. A tried and tested scheme. «In the case of MPS, a loan is needed from the Treasury which owns 64% of the bank: the Treasury will have to give money to MPS who will turn that money over to the fund. There is no reason – explains Lando Maria Sileoni, secretary general of Fabi, the main trade union in the sector – to feed fears about the negotiation, beyond a few aspects to be defined, it is an operation similar to that of 2017 for the rescue of Venetian banks by Intesa Sanpaolo, when the State intervened with over 5 billion “.
–
Unicredit could acquire 1,250 out of 1,400 branches
A mechanism, that of the redundancy fund, which in Italy has already made it possible to early retire on a voluntary basis, about 70,000 bankers, without any layoffs. A prospect that could defuse part of the controversy over the sale of MPS to Unicredit, where 5,500 redundancies are envisaged. According to Fabi’s projections, the operation could close with the bank led by Andrea Orcel which takes over about 1,250 MPS branches compared to the current 1,400, while a hundred branches could pass to Mediocredito Centrale, which already controls the Popolare di Bari, creating thus a banking center in the South. The issue of credit supply in the South, moreover, is raised by the vice president of the Finance Committee of the Chamber, Giovanni Currò (M5S), who says: “I have proposed to audit the governor of Banca d ‘Italy Ignazio Visco. The issue is the compatibility between the Government’s indication in the NRP, which is in strong contrast to territorial inequalities, and the reconfiguration of our banking system. If Unicredit completed the acquisition of Mps, all the main banks would find themselves insisting on Northern Italy ».
–
The team of 30 managers
The final details of the operation will be the result of the work of the team of 30 Unicredit managers, engaged in these hours in the analysis of Mps numbers. Access to the data room and due diligence process are ongoing and will last 40 days. The month of August will be used by the team of analysts and managers for weekly reviews and to close the investigation in early September. Among the notes to be resolved are the methods of use and survival of the Mps brand, which beyond the strong identity value for the Sienese, is connected to the fate of the general management which in the town of Siena employs 2,500 employees. In short, the safeguarding of the Rocca Salimbeni headquarters and the thousands of people who work there will be one of the issues to be defined in order to avoid shocks in the transfer process. In the meantime, the mayor of Siena Luigi De Mossi is putting his feet up, asking for reassurance. «I await clarity and a precise path to follow. We are not at the supermarket, I strongly reject – repeats De Mossi – the idea that this city remains supine in the face of any decision. No to the social butchery, let this bank be allowed to live ». Some first indications will arrive today with the intervention of the Minister of Economy Daniele Franco, who in front of the Finance committees of the Chamber and Senate will illustrate the outlines of the project, reaffirming the government’s commitment to minimize redundancies and reassuring on the need to protect the brand Mps.
–
