Mps, the fate of 5,500 employees and 150 branches in the hands of 30 directors of Unicredit- Corriere.it

In Unicredit’s purchase negotiations for Monte dei Paschi di Siena there is a fact that you should be assured of. In the past 10 years, the credit sector at the European level recorded about 360 thousand layoffs, and in the same period of the crisis Italian banks did not dismiss anyone. The reserve is provided by a bank lay-off fund which guarantees workers access to early retirement if they reach the minimum retirement requirement in the seven years following the termination of the employment relationship. A shock absorber that guarantees, in short, up to seven years of salary, although reduced by about 20%, and moves workers toward a retirement goal. Tried and tested scheme. «In the case of MPS, a loan is required from the Treasury, which owns 64% of the bank: the Treasury will have to provide funds to the MPS who will transfer these funds to the Fund. There is no reason – explains Lando Maria Sciglione, general secretary of Fabi, the sector’s main trade union – to raise concerns about the negotiations, other than some aspects to be identified, it is a process similar to the one in 2017 for the bailout. Venetian banks by Intesa Sanpaolo, when the state intervened with more than 5 billion. ”

Unicredit can acquire 1250 out of 1400 branches

Mechanism, is the mechanism of the surplus fund, which in Italy has already made possible early retirement on a voluntary basis, about 70 thousand bankers, without any layoffs. The prospect could defuse part of the controversy over the sale of the MPS to Unicredit, as 5500 is conceivably redundant. According to Fabi’s forecast, the operation could be closed with the bank led by Andrea Orsel that acquires about 1,250 MPS branches compared to the current 1,400, while a hundred branches could move to Mediocredito Centrale, which already controls Popolare di Bari, creating a banking center in the south. Furthermore, the Vice-Chairman of the Chamber’s Finance Committee, Giovanni Corro (M5S), raised the issue of credit supply in the south, saying: “I have proposed a review of Banca d’Italy Governor Ignazio Visco. The issue is the compatibility of the government’s signal in the NRP, which contradicts severely with regional inequality, and reshaping our banking system. If Unicredit completes the acquisition of Mps, all the major banks will find themselves bent on northern Italy.”

Team of 30 managers

The final details of the process will be the result of the work of a team of 30 Unicredit managers, who are involved in these hours in the analysis of Mps numbers. The data room access and due diligence process is ongoing and will last 40 days. August will be used by the team of analysts and managers for weekly reviews and investigation closures in early September. Among the observations to resolve are the ways of using and surviving the Mps brand, which goes beyond the value of a strong Sienese identity, linked to the fate of the public administration that employs 2,500 employees in the city of Siena. In short, the protection of Rocca Salimbeni headquarters and the thousands of people who work there will be one of the issues that must be identified in order to avoid shocks in the relocation process. Meanwhile, Siena Mayor Luigi de Musi raises his feet for reassurance. “I am waiting for clarity and the exact course to follow. We are not in the supermarket, and I vehemently reject – repeats de Musi – the idea that this city remains in the face of any decision. No to social massacre, let this bank live.” Some preliminary indications will arrive today with the intervention of Economy Minister Daniele Franco, who will explain before the Finance Committees of the House and Senate the outlines of the project, affirming the government’s commitment to reducing redundancies and reassuring the need to protect the Mps brand.