Gianni Franco Papa and Fabio Cerchiai will lead Bper in the next three years: the former Unicredit banker has been appointed CEO of the Modena institution while the former president of Atlantia, UnipolSai and Ania, just to mention some of his numerous corporate roles , becomes president. As three years ago, the top management of the bank is therefore expressed by Unipol, the main shareholder with 19.9% of the capital, on whose list Papa and Cerchiai were candidates.
But if the appointment of Pope was obvious, that of Cerchiai comes as a bit of a surprise, after the name Antonello Cabras had been circulating for the presidency, elected as a share of the Sardinia Foundation, second shareholder with 10.2% of the capital, and who instead had to settle for the vice presidency. It is probable that Cerchiai’s greater experience with respect to the more ‘political’ profile of the former president of the Sardinia Region played a role in the evaluations of the board of directors, which met to assign the tasks immediately after the appointment by the assembly, also in light of the rigorous regulation of the ECB on the suitability requirements (‘fit and proper’) required of company representatives.
Of the 15 members of the board, seven were drawn from the list presented by Unipol, which saw all its candidates elected, five (out of seven) from that of the Sardinia Foundation, and three out of three from the list of funds, the only one of minority. Like three years ago, it was the list of funds that received the most votes, beating both Unipol, which came second, and the Sardinian institution, which came third. The strength of the market rose from 44.3% in 2021 to 51%, thanks to the support of 32% of the capital, more than what was raised by Unipol and the Sardinia Foundation. A strong signal, which clarifies to large shareholders that strategic choices relating to the bank cannot be ignored with the representatives of minorities.
Joining Papa, Cerchiai and Cabras on the board are Silvia Elisabetta Candini, Andrea Mascetti and Piercarlo Gera for the funds, Elena Beccalli, Maria Elena Cappello, Matteo Cordero di Montezemolo, Angela Maria Cossellu and Stefano Rangone for Unipol and Monica Pilloni, Fulvio Solari, Gianfranco Farre and Elisa Valeriani for the Sardinia Foundation. The majority of the board of auditors also went to the funds, leaving the presidency to Unipol, usually the prerogative of minorities. Papa and Cerchiai succeed Piero Montani and Flavia Mazzarella, who during their mandate contributed to Bper’s growth process by completing the integration of the Ubi Banca branches and acquiring Carige.
“Bper today is one of the main players in the Italian economic scenario, we will work to consolidate this positioning and to continue the growth path of the bank”, declared Papa. “The Bank begins a new three-year period during which it will face new challenges and consolidate the important goals achieved to date. We will work immediately to give the best start in view of the commitments that await us”, echoed Cerchiai. The new board of directors will also be responsible for positioning the bank in banking risk, where it will be necessary to decide whether to continue alone or grow further, Unicredit permitting. In Bper’s future there could be Popolare di Sondrio or MPS, provided that the government manages to convince the president of Unipol, Carlo Cimbri.
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