We don’t care about the slippage of Sienna’s stock

by Pino de Blasio

The only tangible effect of the risk of finance being played only on paper, or rather on journalistic indiscretion, is the roller coaster of stocks affected by the “steamer” at the moment. For a stake like Banca Mps’s, with very little float, the whispers and yells about alleged mergers and acquisitions are like the wind blowing for kitesurfing. After hitting its maximum limit on Thursday, closing at €2.43, in the wake of rumors of an imminent possible merger with Bper, Banca Mps shares fell 10.8% yesterday, closing at €2.17. The result of a radical departure from the entirely paper-based process, following the alleged developments in Repubblica, highlighted by the two bank champions.

The occasion to stir up headwinds was the annual meeting of Consob’s senior management with financial and market operators. The first to speak was the CEO of Bper, Piero Luigi Montani. “The deputy is in Siena, we don’t care about anything,” he said in a tone to reporters. Then came the turn of the president of Monte dei Paschi, Nicola Maioni, who served as director of Rocca Salimbeni for two terms, before ascending to the presidency in the last council. Mayone’s response was, “We continue to work on the path of improving accounts and profits, and we are still following the industrial plan.” It is a combination of the “Lovaglio principle”, which returns value to the bank, making it profitable again and able to generate up to 700 million in profits, returning capital to stakeholders and gaining market share in retail, with businesses and households. And then deal with equal dignity about the future of the majority stake, which the state will have to sell, or significantly dilute, 64% by 2024.

Carlo Cembri, president of Unipol and strongman in Bper’s rule, was the least curt. Cimbri said, “If Monty is not interested in Montagne, I am less interested. It is journalistic fantasies”, denying that Unipol endorsed the wedding between Modena and Siena. “We have not been approached by any government about the file, I challenge anyone to find a focus of interest in the matter. Bper is a bank that has grown a lot in a short time, so it is committed to merging the banks it has already acquired.”