BFF: Basilico, Drago and other partners: ‘We’re fine with the banks coming on board, but you must remain independent’
‘The sale of the portfolio is not urgent. We should now involve Amco’
(Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) -
The letter, sent to the board and the board of statutory auditors on 18 August, is signed by several shareholders, including the former founder Kairos and the De Agostini Group’s president emeritus. In the introduction, they clarify that ‘the progress made by the bank’ in the first half of the year, in their view, means that ‘there is no longer any need to sell the portfolio quickly’, because within BFF, ‘unlike other banks that have recently been the subject of media attention, the factoring business it carries out does not present any substantial credit risk or financial loss issues’, given that all exposure is to the public sector.
There are therefore ‘a number of options that the bank can consider in the interests of its shareholders, such as, for example, establishing a ‘revolving’ system for the transfer of non-performing loans to an entity separate from the bank, (a company or fund), whilst also offering current shareholders the opportunity to invest on a pro rata basis in the equity of that entity, possibly involving Amco, not least to cover any unclaimed shares’. This scenario would keep the management of the loans ‘within BFF’.
The institution is described as ‘a strategic asset’ that must be safeguarded, not least for the country’s sake. For this reason, they go on to say, they would view ‘favourably the possible entry of banks into the share capital and governance of BFF Bank, provided that such a move is consistent with the bank’s operations’ and ‘preserves its independence’.
