Messina: ‘The budget: there was a three-year agreement for the banks – I believed it’
Intesa’s CEO opposes the proposal for an additional levy in the Budget Bill: “What isn’t being said is that, against 50 billion in profits, the State will collect 25 billion in taxes”
Key points
“There isn’t a single sector that should have to bear the brunt in difficult times, even in the face of agreements that have already been made. Last year, we reached an agreement on a three-year contribution that would have been the amount required of the banks for the next three years. I believed in it.” These were the words of Carlo Messina, Chief Executive of Intesa Sanpaolo, during the International Forum on Agriculture and Food. “We had proposed making it an annual arrangement, but we were told to make it a three-year one because this would provide stability for the public finances and also for the banks,” he explained. “That is why we need to work as a team today.”
“There is a great deal of talk today about banks’ profits – profits that we already knew last year would be made. But what isn’t being said is that, against those 50 billion in profits, the State will collect 25 billion in taxes,” added Messina. “If there are profits, it is because taxes have been paid. This year, 25 billion euros of public spending will be financed by the banks, so I would like it if, when people talk about profits, they also mentioned the 25 billion.”
The Mps match
Intesa Sanpaolo also plays a role in safeguarding national savings as part of the MPS acquisition. This was stated by Carlo Messina, the bank’s managing director, in a speech at a Coldiretti conference. Messina expressed his gratitude for the explicit endorsement the deal received at a time when ‘some doubts were emerging about our role in safeguarding savings’. Household savings, the banker added, ‘are our triple-A rating’, as is the low level of household debt in Italy relative to other European countries.
Generali’s independence
As for the Generali deal, Messina explained that ‘securing Mediobanca’s position is also a strategic priority for the country, and Mediobanca holds a 13.5 per cent stake in Generali which, once it becomes part of a banking group such as Intesa Sanpaolo, will ensure that Generali retains its absolute independence. Because no one will be able to acquire Generali if Intesa Sanpaolo holds a 13.5 per cent stake, provided it has no intention of interfering with governance or having a say in anything’.
