“Trust and reputation are the most important things in our business, and they have been questioned for eight years: the length of the investigation and the trial. It is as if we had already served a sentence, even a moral one ». Victor Massiah, born in 1959, CEO of Ubi Banca from 2008 to 2020, speaks. He does so for the first time since his resignation, the day after his acquittal in the proceedings that, in Bergamo, saw him accused with thirty other managers of the institute , now part of the Intesa Sanpaolo group. Among the accused Giovanni Bazoli, president emeritus of Ca’de Sass, who used very harsh words in the sentence: “It is unacceptable that the life of censored citizens and esteemed professionals and entrepreneurs has been upset by an unjust accusation”. Massiah was acquitted by the Court because “the fact does not exist” for the charges relating to the obstacle to the supervisory functions while for another crime hypothesis – the unlawful influence on the 2103 assembly – the limitation period . In a country that too often struggles to separate civil, ethical and criminal responsibilities, this is a fixed point.
Massiah, why call such a process and expectation “unacceptable”?
«It was said in a beautiful article by Professor Natalino Irti, one of the highest authorities of the law. We too have already served a sentence in the facts: the way public opinion, the supervisory authorities, our colleagues have looked at us. Although there is the presumption of innocence, the doubt is always there, the point is to make it last as short as possible. I hope the Draghi government works best for a reform that will help everyone, the judiciary and citizens, to improve efficiency. We are not talking about the ability to judge but about efficiency while maintaining quality ».
In recent days, another major process involving a bank has closed: the one on Etruria. Also in that case, one convicted and 23 acquittals. Do you think there was too much haste in impeaching the credit?
“No one is completely impervious to public opinion. Over the years, banks have been given a bad role: it is a fact. There are those who have ridden this thing, and I am not speaking of the judiciary, but of those who presented the complaints that triggered the investigations ».
Thousands of savers and small shareholders on the pavement, bailouts at the expense of taxpayers, desperate families, however, are there to remind us that the system was not so spotless ….
“You are right. We must make a premise: in every field there are objectively negative situations, but in our case no saver or customer has lost a euro, as has unfortunately happened in other situations. From us, the investigations started from a series of complaints made by some private individual who then transacted with the bank that acquired us, leaving it with an economic return. A vicious mechanism, it must be corrected. All in a situation that has proved not to be criminally relevant. Finally, let us not forget that this slowness in the proceedings has also led to the prescription of one of the charges: it is not good for anyone ».
Has this affair damaged your managerial career?
“I think yes. Inevitably, in some way it also creates a doubt in the supervisory authorities ».
After the acquisition of Ubi by Intesa, you are out of the banking system. Do you think you have missed opportunities?
“I don’t know, someone in the market told me.”
How has the perception of Italians towards banks changed?
«The phenomenon is improving. After the 2008 crisis, which came to us in 2011, banks were considered to be the cause of the problem. Today, with the Covid emergency, they are the solution since they have been used as a transmission of state guarantees. The fact that bad management situations have been resolved and there has been a change of paradigm cannot but do everyone good “.
How are Italian banks really doing?
“They are very solid, they have freed themselves from the vast majority of risky loans, there has been cleaning up and they have strengthened the capital.”
You fought to maintain Ubi’s independence. Should institutions continue on the path of mergers?
“The consolidation has favored the rescue of non-performing banks, but careful not to exceed the concentration of the system by creating oligopolies that are not good for any market”.
Massiah, what are you doing today?
«I am teaching as an adjunct professor at the Catholic University, which I thank for the trust, and through a series of investments I am helping young people to launch successful adventures. An example: on 25 October there is the inauguration of the first Planet Farms plant, which essentially produces salad and in the future low-height crops, in vertical greenhouses that use less water and land and are having great sales success ».
Don’t you miss the boards?
“I like to dedicate this last lucid phase of my life to young people.”