MPS: Lovaglio, ‘Independence is important for customers, staff and the country’

Consolidation is beneficial, but strong competition is needed

Monte dei Paschi’s independence is beneficial to its customers, its employees, the regions in which it operates and, therefore, to the country as a whole. Luigi Lovaglio, Chief Executive of Banca Mps, concluded an interview at the CEO Conference organised by Mediobanca by returning to the topic of banking sector consolidation, which he had touched upon at the start of his speech, referring to the ongoing game of Risk involving Intesa Sanpaolo’s OPAS and Banco BPM’s takeover bid. It was Lovaglio himself who, whilst awaiting a final question from the audience, asked to expand on the point he had made at the start. “Market consolidation is important,” he said, “it is useful and healthy, but consolidation must ensure that the market is well served; and to be well served in a country, it needs access to credit for households and small, medium and large enterprises. ‘The market,’ he continues, ‘should ensure that savings are channelled swiftly into the real economy, and a sound system serves the country well if competition is strong, unsegmented and encompasses all the diversity required in a modern market.’ This leads to the discussion of MPS, “one of the most important independent players”, and the view that this is positive “for customers, employees, the regions in which we operate and, ultimately, for the country”.

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