“The reason why the ECB has brought negative interest rates is to make liquidity expensive and therefore to favor its transfer to the real economy. But if the mechanism jams, and liquidity remains trapped like a swamp on current accounts without ending up in consumption or investments, then we have a problem. We want to help solve it ». It can be argued to Alessandro Foti, CEO of Fineco, that consumption is partially blocked due to lockdowns. And why so many Italians have lost their jobs. It can be disputed that in such an uncertain period prudence is natural. The objections can be many.
But Foti nevertheless emphasizes a real problem: the 1,745 billion euros blocked on Italian current accounts (200 billion more than in February 2020) are a brake on development as well as a risk for savings. And, in certain cases relating to large stocks, they can even hide forms of speculation or arbitrage.
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The ultimatum: either invest or close the account
This is why Fineco has decided to fight against the great wealth left “sterile” on current accounts. His intention is not to target ordinary people. His battle is only against large deposits: last week he decided to warn his customers that he reserves the right to close current accounts with a balance exceeding 100 thousand euros, only if the customer in question has no form of investment. or existing loan.
Speaking with Foti, three reasons emerge why he started this battle (which in any case involves only a few thousand customers): to favor the outflow of large assets from the “swamp” of current accounts to the real economy, to counteract some forms of arbitrage finally, because – in the era of negative rates – current accounts are now a cost for the bank. It is no coincidence that (as evidenced by a Saturday article in the Sole 24 Ore) many other banks have begun to “tax” the super-accounts of companies. However, Fineco is the only one that aims at large deposits of individuals.
The sly of the bill
The first reason for this battle is linked to the fact that sometimes opportunistic and – in some ways – speculative operations are hidden in the face of very important liquid balances left in the accounts. Which arise from a specific reason: in Italy it is not possible to apply negative interest rates to current accounts, which some banks have done in other countries. This is why so many capitals (especially German ones) are running into the accounts in Italy: just think that at the end of 2020 there were 2.63 billion German deposits and other 1.31 Europeans in Italian banks. They come to us because their rates are negative.