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☆ UniCredit CEO Orcel's 'bank of Europe' ambition tough to realise
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-14 | by ( Valentina Za | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

However, his aspirations to make UniCredit the "bank of Europe" are proving trickier to realise with the CEO setting a high bar for mergers and acquisitions in the euro zone's fractured capital markets, despite having what he describes as the biggest war chest among European lenders. UniCredit bought Greece's 9% stake in Alpha Bank (ACBr.AT) and struck a commercial partnership with the Athens-based lender, also acquiring most of its Romanian operations. The CEO works closely with a small M&A team he set up within UniCredit which constantly reviews potential deals in the markets and businesses where the bank operates, people with knowledge of the matter said. But uneven regulation across the euro zone, where progress towards a single banking market has stalled, complicates cross-border deals. Calling on Europe to follow his lead, Orcel says he has unlocked UniCredit's potential by giving it a unified strategy across its 13 markets.

Persons: Andrea Orcel, Merrill Lynch, Orcel, He's, Cole Smead, ALPHA Orcel, Siena, UniCredit, Smead, Jean, Pierre Mustier's, Mustier, it's, Carlo Franchini, Danilo Masoni, Kirsten Donovan Organizations: Discount, MILAN, UBS, Smead Capital Management, Fund, ALPHA, Banco, Alpha Bank, Alpha, Banca Ifigest, Thomson Locations: buybacks, Europe, Arizona, Ukraine, Athens, HVB, Berlin, Milan

☆ Italy Finance Minister evokes default risk to defend bank measures
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-14 | by ( Giuseppe Fonte | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Minister of Economic Development Giancarlo Giorgetti attends the first voting session at the lower house of parliament to elect the new speaker in Rome, Italy, October 13, 2022. "In two or three years' time, when I may not be around but there will be a default crisis, perhaps someone will say that our government was not so crazy," Giorgetti said, without giving further details of this scenario. The average default rate for Italian companies rose for the first time in nearly decade in 2022 to stand at 2.4% in December, compared with a record low of 1.6% in December 2021, credit data company CRIF said last month. The rate has edged up in the first half of 2023 to 2.5%, CRIF added, forecasting it could get to 3% by the end of 2023. ($1 = 0.9346 euros)Additional reporting by Valentina Za in Milan; Editing by Gareth Jones and Alexander SmithOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Giancarlo Giorgetti, Guglielmo Mangiapane, Giorgetti, CRIF, Valentina Za, Gareth Jones, Alexander Smith Organizations: Economic, REUTERS, Italian Economy, Hamas, Thomson Locations: Rome, Italy, ROME, Italian, Europe, Israel, Ukraine, Milan

☆ MPS gets dismissal of $481 mln in claims upheld in court
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MILAN, Nov 9 (Reuters) - Milan's civil appeals court on Thursday upheld a ruling rejecting a 450 million euro ($481 million) damage claim brought by Luxembourg-based fund Alkem against Monte dei Paschi di Siena (BMPS.MI), the bank's former top management and its adviser Nomura , the court said in a statement. The rulings are beneficial for MPS which is 64% owned by the state following a 2017 bailout, and must be re-privatised. Alken had sought around 450 million euros in compensation and Virmont SA another 4.7 million, the court said, adding there were further smaller claims from some Italian investors. The civil appeals court in Milan also cited the ruling of the criminal court of appeal in Milan that had acquitted all the defendants in the case centring around the two derivatives deals, a decision confirmed by Italy's top court last month. ($1 = 0.9356 euros)Reporting by Emilio Parodi, editing by Valentina ZaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Siena, Nomura, Alken, Emilio Parodi, Valentina Za Organizations: MILAN, Monte dei, Deutsche Bank, Nomura, MPS, Virmont SA, Thomson Locations: Luxembourg, Milan

☆ Italy's Nexi confirms guidance after earnings meet forecasts
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The logo of Italian payments group Nexi is pictured inside their headquarters in Milan, Italy, March 28, 2019. Nexi said it had sold ID, a system to verify users' online identity and data, which it had lined up for disposal during its latest capital markets day to streamline its operations. Nexi's earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation came in at 495.8 million euros ($531 million), fractionally ahead of analyst forecasts. Revenues totalled 872 million euros, in line with expectations. ($1 = 0.9343 euros)Reporting by Valentina Za, editing by Giulia SegretiOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Alessandro Garofalo, Nexi, amortisation, Valentina Za, Giulia Segreti Organizations: REUTERS, Thomson Locations: Milan, Italy

☆ Monte dei Paschi beats profit forecast, strengthens capital
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

View of the logo of Monte dei Paschi di Siena (MPS), the oldest bank in the world, which faces massive layoffs as part of a planned corporate merger, in Siena, Italy, August 11, 2021. REUTERS / Jennifer Lorenzini/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsMILAN, Nov 8 (Reuters) - State-owned Monte dei Paschi di Siena (BMPS.MI) on Wednesday became the latest Italian bank to surprise markets with stronger-than-expected third-quarter earnings thanks to a boost from higher rates. Monte dei Paschi (MPS) is 64% owned by the state, which is working on reducing its stake in the Tuscan lender in line with re-privatisation commitments taken with the European Union. High-street banks in Italy have been able to keep at a minimum the portion of the increase in official rates they pass onto depositors. MPS said its core capital ratio had strengthened further in the quarter to 16.7%, above expectations and up from 15.9% at the end of June.

Persons: Jennifer Lorenzini, Siena, Valentina Za, Robert Birsel Organizations: REUTERS, Wednesday, European Union, MPS, Thomson Locations: dei, Siena, Italy

☆ Telecom Italia core profit up 9% as grid share deal helps domestic sales
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

That is ahead of a 1.37 billion euro company-provided analyst consensus. Total domestic sales rose 2.2% in the quarter to 2.98 billion euros, also above forecasts. The company confirmed its 2023 financial targets, including a stabilisation of core earnings and service revenue in Italy. In the nine months, service revenue at TIM's domestic operations fell 1.3% to 7.9 billion euros. TIM's net financial debt stood at 26.3 billion euros as of Sept. 30, marginally up from the end of the previous quarter.

Persons: Stefano Rellandini, Giorgia, Pietro Labriola, Elvira Pollina, Valentina Za Organizations: Telecom Italia, REUTERS, Vivendi, Italy's, KKR, TIM, Thomson Locations: Rozzano, Milan, Italy, TIM's

☆ Europe needs bigger banks but mergers hard without banking union -Intesa CEO
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MILAN, Nov 6 (Reuters) - European banks need to join forces if the region is to withstand competition from the United States and China but without a banking union, cross-border mergers do not make sense, the head of Italy's biggest bank Intesa Sanpaolo (ISP.MI) said on Monday. "You need synergies and the area where investors are looking for synergies is cost," he said, adding it was not easy "to deliver real cross-border synergies on the cost side". "I think we'll need to wait for a banking union to see real, significant cross-border consolidation. Orcel last month said Europe was destined to "irrelevance" if it did not work to unify its capital markets and create a banking union that allowed lenders to compete with U.S. rivals and adequately finance the region's economy. Intesa has a 30% market share of deposits and mutual funds, and 20% of insurance products, the CEO said.

Persons: Carlo Messina, Andrea Orcel, Messina, Intesa, Andrea Enria, Valentina Za, Kirsten Donovan Organizations: MILAN, CNBC, U.S, Central Bank's, Thomson Locations: United States, China, Europe, Orcel, Messina, Italy

☆ Telecom Italia gives green light to KKR's grid bid, sources say
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-05 | by ( Elvira Pollina | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Telecom Italia (TIM) logo is seen displayed in this illustration taken, May 3, 2022. The price tag can reach 22 billion euros when including some future payments were a long-awaited combination of TIM's grid with that of state-backed fibre optic rival Open Fiber materialise, the first two sources said. Italian infrastructure fund F2i is also preparing to take a stake in the grid to bring the holding in Italian hands to 30%-35%. With its 24% TIM stake, Vivendi has warned TIM's board it is ready to bring a legal challenge to the sale after criticising its approval process, documents seen by Reuters showed. ($1 = 0.9321 euros)Reporting by Elvira Pollina; Editing by Valentina ZaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Giorgia, Pietro Labriola's, Merlyn Advisors, Stefano Siragusa, Elvira Pollina, Valentina Za Organizations: Telecom Italia, REUTERS, Vivendi, Sunday, KKR, Reuters, TIM, Treasury, Thomson Locations: MILAN, London

☆ Telecom Italia approves KKR's $20 billion grid bid in blow for Vivendi
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-05 | by ( Elvira Pollina | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Telecom Italia (TIM) logo is seen displayed in this illustration taken, May 3, 2022. The board started a review of KKR's offer on Friday, approving it on Sunday, TIM said. The sale's 18.8 billion euro price tag, including debt, could reach 22 billion euros if certain conditions are met, TIM said. TIM said it would not put the board's decision to a shareholder vote, in a setback for leading shareholder VivendI (VIV.PA). Vivendi, which owns 24% of TIM, has been seeking a higher price and questioned the sustainability of the business left behind.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Giorgia, Pietro Labriola's, Labriola, Merlyn Advisors, Merlyn, Elvira Pollina, Valentina Za, Will Dunham Organizations: Telecom Italia, REUTERS, TIM, Vivendi, Sunday, KKR, European Union, Treasury, VivendI, Thomson Locations: Italy, MILAN, London

☆ Italy's antitrust probes Intesa's customer shift to mobile service Isybank
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-02 | by ( Giulia Segreti | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Intesa Sanpaolo bank logo is seen displayed in this illustration taken, May 3, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsCompanies Intesa Sanpaolo SpA FollowROME, Nov 2 (Reuters) - Italy's antitrust authority said on Thursday it had opened a probe into the transfer of thousands of Intesa Sanpaolo (ISP.MI) customers to the bank's mobile-only service Isybank. After launching Isybank in June, Intesa at the beginning of October started moving about 300,000 customers from its traditional network. The antitrust also said that the shift to Isybank carried with it "important changes" to the terms and conditions of the accounts. Intesa told a presentation in June that it would over time increase the number of services Isybank users can access on their accounts.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Intesa, Giorgia Meloni, Carlo Messina's, Giulia Segreti, Valentina Za Organizations: REUTERS, Intesa, ROME, Treasury, Thomson Locations: Italy's

☆ UniCredit CEO says shareholders prefer buybacks to dividends
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Unicredit Bank logo is seen in this illustration taken March 12, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsMILAN, Oct 27 (Reuters) - Italy's UniCredit (CRDI.MI) is using mostly share buybacks to return capital to shareholders, rather than dividends, because that is what investors prefer, Chief Executive Andrea Orcel said in a shareholders' meeting on Friday. "This is what shareholders tell us when we speak with them," Orcel told a meeting that approved a 2.5-billion-euro ($2.64 billion) share buyback. Presenting quarterly earnings on Tuesday, Orcel said that UniCredit would consider increasing over time the cash portion of its distribution, which is "arguably low." With shares trading at between 5 and 5.5 times the bank's forward earnings, "I think I am doing investors a favour by reducing the share count and boosting the yield going forward", Orcel said.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Andrea Orcel, Orcel, UniCredit, Valentina Za, Alvise Organizations: REUTERS, Thomson

To this aim UniCredit wants to get to around 20 billion euros of in-house funds, Orcel said. UniCredit and Amundi are tied by a 10-year distribution agreement they signed in 2017, when UniCredit sold its internal asset manager Pioneer to Amundi. Orcel, who has been working to increase the bank's fee income since arriving in 2021, said on Tuesday UniCredit had been "rebalancing" its relationship with Amundi. By replacing the Amundi funds with its own products or those of partners who pay the bank more to sell their funds, UniCredit increases the portion of distribution fees in asset management it pockets. "In terms of value, I think in-house, strictly speaking, we're looking at about 20 billion euros," he said.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Andrea Orcel, UniCredit, Orcel, Valérie Baudson, Amundi, Mathieu Rosemain, Valentina Za, Matthew Lewis Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Paris

☆ Intesa CEO hopes to keep reins with Catholic philosophy for 'many years'
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

"We can do that because we already spend 300 million euros a year for social causes," Messina said. Intesa has among core shareholders charitable banking foundations inspired by Catholic values, commonly referred to in Italy as "Catholic finance". "I hope to have the honour to continue to lead our company for many years with this philosophy," Messina said. At the helm since 2013, Messina has made the digital switch a key plank of his long-term strategy for Intesa, with a view to cutting costs and focusing resources on wealth management and insurance operations. Intesa this year launched both Isybank, a cloud-based, low-cost mobile bank to serve younger, mass-market clients, and Fideuram Direct, a digital wealth management service targeting younger private banking clients.

Persons: Carlo Messina, Messina, Intesa, " Messina, Pope Francis, Valentina Za, Tomasz Janowski Organizations: MILAN, Thomson Locations: Italy, Messina

☆ Mediobanca posts record profit ahead of vote on new board
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

A logo of Mediobanca is pictured at Mediobanca headquarters in Milan, Italy, November 12, 2019. REUTERS/Flavio Lo Scalzo/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsMILAN, Oct 26 (Reuters) - Mediobanca (MDBI.MI) posted its best-ever quarterly profit on Thursday, ahead of a key shareholder vote to name the Italian bank's new board and hand Chief Executive Alberto Nagel a new three-year mandate. Net profit rose 34% year-on-year to 351 million euros ($370 million) in the three months through September, beating a bank-provided analyst consensus of 315 million euros, thanks to contributions from wealth management and insurance. Del Vecchio, who died last year at the age of 87, had criticised Nagel for failing to grow the investment bank's business decisively and hampering expansion at insurer Generali (GASI.MI), in which Mediobanca is the main shareholder. ($1 = 0.9489 euros)Reporting by Gianluca Semeraro; editing by Alvise Armellini and Valentina ZaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Flavio Lo Scalzo, Alberto Nagel, Revenues, Mediobanca, Delfin, Leonardo Del Vecchio, Del Vecchio, Nagel, Gianluca Semeraro, Alvise Armellini, Valentina Za Organizations: REUTERS, Thomson Locations: Milan, Italy, Italian, Del

☆ UniCredit revamps Buddy online banking service to ease cloud shift
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Unicredit Bank logo is seen in this illustration taken March 12, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsMILAN, Oct 25 (Reuters) - Italy's UniCredit (CRDI.MI) on Wednesday announced improvements to its mobile banking service Buddybank, in a move that Chief Executive Andrea Orcel said would ease the eventual transition to a cloud-based core banking infrastructure. UniCredit had managed to unify the backend structure supporting traditional commercial banking operations and Buddybank, Orcel told a press conference. To shift to Buddy R-Evolution, UniCredit customers have only to download the application in order to access their current account without any changes to their bank details. A change of bank details caused disruptions this month for customers of rival Intesa Sanpaolo (ISP.MI) which is gradually shifting younger, digitally-savvy clients to its cloud-based mobile bank Isybank.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Andrea Orcel, UniCredit, Buddy R, Orcel, Intesa Sanpaolo, Valentina Za, Keith Weir Organizations: REUTERS, Wednesday, Thomson

☆ Intesa to add 2 bln to reserves from bank tax
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The logo of bank Intesa Sanpaolo is seen in Milan, Italy, January 18, 2016. REUTERS/Stefano Rellandini/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsMILAN, Oct 25 (Reuters) - Italy's biggest bank, Intesa Sanpaolo (ISP.MI), on Wednesday said it would increase non-distributable reserves by 2.07 billion euros ($2.19 billion) instead of paying a one-off windfall tax, making use of an opt-out clause in the law. A similar decision was announced on Tuesday by rival UniCredit (CRDI.MI), which is boosting reserves by 1.1 billion euros. Reserves must increase by 2.5 times the amount that would be paid as tax, which in Intesa's case would have been 828 million euros. In announcing it was increasing reserves, Intesa said it had decided to spend around 1.5 billion euros over the 2023-2027 period to help people in need.

Persons: Stefano Rellandini, Intesa, UniCredit, Carlo Messina, Valentina Za, Leslie Adler Organizations: REUTERS, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Milan, Italy

☆ UniCredit 'rebalancing' Amundi relationship in fee income drive
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

It's rebalancing a little bit, and will rebalance going forward," UniCredit CEO Andrea Orcel told analysts when presenting the bank's third quarter results. Sources told Reuters in May that UniCredit had been trimming the proportion of Amundi funds in its total AUM, paying penalties for failing to meet contractual minimums. Orcel said UniCredit will maintain its current "open architecture" approach to asset management, which involves partnering with all major players, including Amundi, to offer "best in class" products. Since taking over at UniCredit in 2021, the former investment banker, has been working to boost revenue from asset management in an effort to increase net fee income as a proportion of UniCredit's overall revenue. As he sought to review the 10-year Amundi distribution deal, Orcel signed an agreement with Azimut (AZMT.MI) in late 2022 giving the Italian asset manager access to UniCredit's clients.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, UniCredit, Amundi, It's, Andrea Orcel, Orcel, Valentina Za, Alexander Smith Organizations: REUTERS, Reuters, BlackRock, Thomson Locations: UniCredit, Italian

☆ She got a gun to keep her children safe. This is what happened next
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-20 | by ( Thomas Lake | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

LaGrange, Georgia CNN —My little Spider-Man, his mother called him. He was holding on out there, in the open space, until his mother pulled her little Spider-Man back onto the balcony. Read other profiles of children who have died from gunfireThe next few minutes are jumbled in her memory. Most accidental shooting deaths among children involve guns left loaded and unlocked, study findsIn a recent interview, as she struggled with her emotions, Williams said she wished she hadn’t gotten the gun. His mother looked at her little Spider-Man, and wished she could take his place.

Persons: Ayden King, Chepial Williams, “, ”, Williams, Ayden, ” Williams, don’t, King, Chris Pritchett, they’re, ” Ayden, they’d, Za’Niyah Organizations: LaGrange , Georgia CNN, CNN, Firearms, Authorities Locations: LaGrange , Georgia, LaGrange, Atlanta, Birmingham, America

☆ Nexi shares fail to open on bid report as CVC declines to comment
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Bloomberg reported on Tuesday that CVC was in the early stages of considering a possible bid for Nexi, Europe's largest payments company by volume of transactions. Nexi shares have lost 22% this year, adding to a 47% drop in 2022 and stoking speculation about potential takeover interest. By 0730 shares in Nexi were indicated up 16.7% at 6.72 euros a share, not far from a record low of 5.25 euros a share hit earlier this month. The presence of shareholder funds which will eventually need to liquidate their investment and the depressed share price have fuelled persistent speculation about Nexi's future. The government has powers to block any unwanted interest over a company such as Nexi, considered of strategic national interest.

Persons: Alessandro Garofalo, Friedman, Bain, Elisa Anzolin, Giancarlo Navach, Valentina Za, Cristina Carlevaro, Gavin Jones Organizations: REUTERS, CVC Capital Partners, Bloomberg, Nexi, Nets, Thomson Locations: Milan, Italy, Nexi

☆ Amazon to launch online shopping service in South Africa in 2024
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-17 | by ( Nqobile Dludla | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

South Africa will be Amazon's 21st country with a local domain name-based website, challenging a slew of online retailers dominated mainly by Naspers' (NPNJn.J) Takealot.com. "The launch of Amazon.co.za in 2024 will provide independent sellers throughout the country an opportunity to rapidly launch, grow, and scale their businesses," Amazon said in a statement. The launch of its service comes at a time when South Africa has seen a sharp rise in online shopping after the pandemic created an opportunity for e-commerce to finally take hold, with retailers doubling down on investments in response. "I don't think their takeover of South Africa retail is a slam dunk," said Sasfin Wealth senior equity analyst Alec Abraham. While Amazon is expected to intensify competition with local online and traditional retailers, "the reality is that the consumer pie in South Africa is not growing," he said.

Persons: Naspers, Pascal, Alec Abraham, Mamongae Mahlare, Nqobile, Promit Mukherjee, Mark Potter Organizations: REUTERS, Sasfin Wealth, Amazon, Takealot, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Africa, JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, Egypt

Research shows women in richer economies are more likely to have children if they work. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni - Italy's first female premier - has said women are "an untapped resource" that lessens the need for immigrant labour. Yet her conservative government's 2024 budget, to be presented on Monday, is not expected to include measures to drive change. According to a government report relating to 2021, nearly one in five Italian women aged under 50 left their job after having their first child. SPANISH SUCCESSMeloni's government could learn from Spain, whose female activity rate lagged Italy's in the early 1990s but is now above the EU average.

Persons: Guzzo, Vittoria, Claudia Greco, Elena, Claudia Goldin, Giorgia Meloni, Claudia Olivetti, Enza Guzzo, Gian Carlo Blangiardo, Blangiardo, Giancarlo Giorgetti, Olivetti, Paola Profeta, Katharine Neiss, Valentina Za, Elisa Anzolin, Giuseppe Fonte, Catherine Evans Organizations: REUTERS, European Union, Reuters, Research, Dartmouth College, ISTAT, Bank of, EU, France's, Milan's Bocconi University, AXA Research, Treasury, Thomson Locations: Arese, Italy, MILAN, Bank of Italy, Rome, Barcelona, Spain, Milan

☆ Top Italy court confirms acquittals in Monte dei Paschi derivatives case
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-11 | by ( Marco Carta | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

View of the entrance to the headquarters of Monte dei Paschi di Siena (MPS), the oldest bank in the world, which is facing massive layoffs as part of a planned corporate merger, in Siena, Italy, August 11, 2021. Among the 15 defendants cleared by Italy's Supreme Court of Cassation were former MPS Chairman Giuseppe Mussari and its former Managing Director Antonio Vigni and Deutsche (DBKGn.DE) and Nomura (8604.T). The appeals court cancelled seizures imposed on Deutsche Bank and Nomura Holdings Inc (8604.T) for 64.9 million and 88 million euros, respectively. The case centred on two derivatives transactions — dubbed Alexandria and Santorini — that Nomura and Deutsche Bank arranged for MPS in 2009. MPS, the world's oldest bank still in business and Italy's fifth biggest listed lender, had reached a court settlement in 2016 in the derivatives case at a cost of 10.6 million euros.

Persons: Jennifer Lorenzini, Siena, Giuseppe Mussari, Antonio Vigni, Nomura, Marco Carta, Keith Weir, Valentina Za Organizations: Monte, REUTERS, Rights, Monte dei, Deutsche Bank, Nomura, Italy's, Cassation, Deutsche, Nomura Holdings Inc, MPS, Prosecutors, Thomson Locations: Monte dei, Siena, Italy, Milan, Alexandria

The government last week revisited a 40% tax on banks' net interest margin (NIM) that it had introduced in a shock move in August. Lenders now have the option to boost reserves by an amount equivalent to 2.5 times the tax. Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti said on Sept. 27 the final outcome of the process would be "a great bank policy measure" that makes Italy's banks the strongest in Europe. The law requires banks that forego the tax to set aside money under ad hoc reserves in their accounts. If forced to boost capital through the ad hoc reserves, banks can use larger buybacks over time to compensate shareholders, one of the sources said.

Persons: Giancarlo Giorgetti, Remo Casilli, Banks, Luigi Lovaglio, Andrea Orcel, Giorgia Meloni, Giorgetti, Bernadette Baum Organizations: REUTERS, Treasury, Economy, European Central Bank, Monte, Thomson Locations: Rome, Italy, ROME, Europe, Monte dei, Siena

☆ Soccer AC Milan take first step in new arena project
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The AC Milan logo is pictured on a pennant in a soccer store in downtown Milan, Italy April 29, 2015. REUTERS/Stefano Rellandini/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsMILAN, Sept 27 (Reuters) - AC Milan are starting a process to build a new stadium on the outskirts of Milan, the Italian soccer club said on Wednesday, after efforts to replace their historic San Siro arena led nowhere. "It's a first step," AC Milan chairman Paolo Scaroni said at a press briefing presenting the project. Like other Italian clubs, AC Milan, who are controlled by U.S. fund RedBird, do not own an arena, which is seen as a key driver to boost revenue. The club and local rival Inter Milan have been in talks for years with the city of Milan to advance a joint project to rebuild San Siro, which was built in the 1920s and is currently the home ground of both teams.

Persons: Stefano Rellandini, Milan, Paolo Scaroni, Elvira Pollina, Valentina Za, Ed Osmond Organizations: REUTERS, Milan, AC Milan, U.S, Inter Milan, Thomson Locations: Milan, Italy, Italian, San Siro, San Donato

The Treasury will issue new economic targets on Wednesday providing the framework for a budget in which Meloni will attempt to keep her tax-cutting promises while also lowering the fiscal deficit. "This budget is Meloni's first real economic test since she came to power last October," said Tim Jones, euro zone analyst for market consultancy firm Medley Advisors. Meloni has much less room for manoeuvre than when she hiked deficit targets in her first budget a year ago. Episodes targeting airlines and investors in Italy's 307- billion-euro ($326.74 billion) bad loan market have followed a similar pattern. Meloni subsequently said no measures were planned regarding non-performing loans, but her party's proposal is still before parliament and uncertainty persists.

Persons: Giorgia Meloni, Meloni, Tim Jones, she's, Morgan Stanley, Reuters.G Rome, Roberto Perotti, Meloni's, Valentina Za, Francesco Canepa, Giuseppe Fonte, Sara Rossi, Gianluca Semeraro, Ed Osmond, Giselda Organizations: Treasury, Advisors, European Central Bank, Reuters, Ryanair, Milan's, Bank of, ECB, Thomson Locations: ROME, Italy, Greece, Rome, Italian, Italy's, Brussels, EU, Milan

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