Banca Popolare di Sondrio has “taken note” of the blitz with which Unipol, through the subsidiary UnipolSai, has risen up to 6.9% of the bank’s capital, reads it as a “signal of confidence” on future prospects and, while remaining open to the hypothesis of consolidation, it claims the autonomy that in 2021 led it to celebrate its 150th birthday. Thus the managing director Mario Pedranzini, in a conversation with the Radiocor agency, commented on the moves of the Unipol group and the scenarios that lie ahead.
«We took note of the increase in the shareholding by UnipolSai. We know him well, he is a qualified institutional operator, he knows us and therefore the decision to invest in the bank is a sign of confidence in the goodness of the Popolare di Sondrio “, explained Pedranzini, underlining that it was” an autonomous decision of UnipolSai »Of which the heads of the Valtellinese institute had not been informed in advance. The banker then referred to the statements of the same Bolognese company, which expressed “the desire to follow the bank in its development project, also characterized by a long-standing partnership in the bancassurance sector with Arca Vita and Arca Assicurazioni”. Partnerships, said Pedranzini, which “have always been in the name of our strategies and have always allowed us to grow, to broaden our operational areas, serving customers in the best possible way with efficiency and competitiveness criteria while maintaining our autonomy, which is the thing we have always particularly cared about and which has allowed us to reach 150 years of history in a profitable, resilient way and to be a significant interlocutor in the Italian banking system “.
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“We have always grown internally”
With regard to potential consolidation scenarios, both in light of Unipol’s move and the probable transformation into a Spa by the end of the year (if in the next few days the Council of State resolves the last knot on the reform of the Popolari), Pedranzini noted that the Popolare di Sondrio has “always grown internally”. “We have always made our assessments even against the tide but the facts have always proved us right – he claimed -. We have always looked to the interests of our 160,000 shareholders and the interests of our customers ». “As always we are open” to evaluate M&A transactions, “we look at the possibilities, but then we make our decisions”, he concluded, recalling that “every company is worth if it is able to fulfill its mission, satisfying customers and being solid and profitable “.
Before the opening of the market, Unipolsai announced the purchase of 18,207,598 ordinary shares of Popolare di Sondrio, equal to 4% of the share capital, at 4.15 per share, for a total outlay of approximately 75.6 million. On Tuesday evening, the Bolognese company announced its intention to buy up to 6.62% of the capital and thus rise to approximately 9.5%, explaining that the operation “is part of UnipolSai’s strategy aimed at contributing to the plans development of the bank, industrial partner of the Unipol group since 2010 in the Non-Life and Life bancassurance sector ».
(Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor)