Banca Mps, 3500 exits and new hires. Agreement signed with trade unions

The guarantee consortium for the 2.5 billion euro capital increase of Mps is expanded. Santander, Barclays, Société Générale and Stifel Europe Bank AG have joined BofA, Citigroup, Credit Suisse and Mediobanca as joint bookrunners through the signing of a pre-underwriting agreement in line with that already signed by the other banks in the consortium . Before the start of the operation, MPS communicates, the consortium may be extended to other financial institutions.
Meanwhile, MPS is putting in place another piece in the complicated relaunch mosaic that also includes the new plan and the 2.5 billion euro capital increase. After the extension granted by the EU to the Italian state (majority shareholder) for the restructuring, the bank signed the expected agreement with the unions on 3,500 voluntary departures, almost 18% of the 20,000 employees and which in the future may be partially compensated by hiring young people. Employees who join will have an incentive equal to 80% of the net ordinary salary set on an annual basis or 85% if the monthly net ordinary salary is less than € 2,850. The redundancies, lower than the numbers circulated a few months ago, will however take place in full on 1 December and not in stages. The aim of the top management of the bank is in fact to send a strong signal along the road of efficiency and reduction of the cost / income (one of the bank’s sore points) to the EU Commission and to the markets. The costs of the operation will be covered by the 800 million envisaged in the capital increase which should start in the autumn. Of course, the political and market framework is complex, either for the September elections or for the Italian and European economy struggling with rate hikes and hyperinflation. And the redundancies themselves will not be an easy operation, as also underlined by the trade unions. The release of such a mass will be a non-trivial organizational challenge but all the trade unions in commenting on the agreement underlined the “sense of responsibility” of this signature to protect the bank and its brand which have gone through a long series of restructuring, bailouts with public funds and scandals. Thanks to the law, approved in recent months in the Milleproroghe, the redundancies will be able to count on the support of the Solidarity Fund for up to 7 years but the average will be about 4 years and it will be possible to ‘fish’ on a potential pool of 4200 employees. Once the increase has been collected, the redundancies have been implemented, the new plan has been approved, Monte will then have to prove that it is a bank capable of walking on its own feet. Indications will arrive from the top at the presentation of the half-year results, tomorrow 5th August. Only in this way will the bank (and the State shareholder) be able to present itself to a possible new merger or aggregation transaction with some contractual force.