Stress tests, why Italian banks beat French, Spanish and German banks
Average capital erosion of 176 basis points, 56% less than in 2023
3' min read
3' min read
An average capital erosion of 176 basis points, 56% less than the 2023 results. These figures bear witness to the strengthening achieved by the six Italian banks involved in the EBA stress test, which placed at the top of the European banking authority's 'league table', ahead of even their Spanish, French and German competitors.
The calculation considers the descent from the fully loaded common equity tier 1 of 2024, 'restated' to take into account the entry into force of the new European standards from 1 January this year, to the value in the adverse scenario at the end of 2027. On the basis of these parameters, the average capital ratio of Intesa Sanpaolo, UniCredit, Mps, Banco Bpm, Bper and Iccrea drops from 16.1% in 2024 to 14.36% in 2027, compared to a much lower value calculated two years ago for the 2025 target year (10.73%), again under adverse conditions. For all institutions, however, the numbers remain well above the regulatory minimums in all scenarios, proving that the exercise passed with flying colours.
Intesa Sanpaolo
In detail, the bank with the smallest reduction in primary capital to 2027 under worst-case conditions is Intesa Sanpaolo, which achieves a moderate decline of 62 basis points, from 12.4 per cent to 11.78 per cent. Intesa, which had seen a drop of 268 basis points in 2023, thus claims the ability "to confirm its solidity even in complex scenarios, thanks to its well-diversified and resilient business model".
Bper
A change of less than 100 basis points also for Bper, which saw its Cet 1 ratio fall by 89 basis points from 14.86 per cent to 13.97 per cent, a 'significant reduction in the impact', as the institution pointed out, compared to 415 points in the previous Eba exercise.
Iccrea
For the Iccrea Co-operative Group, the fall in core capital is 175 points to 20.8% (the highest absolute value in the sample), against a negative delta of 434 points in 2023. This performance demonstrates the ability to "continue to guarantee support to members and customers even in particularly severe economic scenarios, in line with its values and mission".
