Taxing the profits of the banks, Messina (Intesa): “We will observe with respect, collections go to the social emergency”

The idea of ​​taxing the extra profits of the banks, inflated by the rise in interest rates imposed by the ECB, finds an opening from the number one of Intesa Sanpaolo. On the occasion of the presentation of the quarterly results, closed beyond market expectations, Carlo Messina said: “The hypothesis of an increase in taxation on bank profits is under discussion, in consideration of revenues from growing interest margins, in the current situation of rate hikes by the ECB. We will respectfully observe every decision taken by the government”. “At the same time – he added – we hope that these additional levies, in the event that new tax rules are applied, will be used to cope with the country’s major social emergencythat of the growth of inequalities, adopting measures for those who find themselves in greater difficulty”.

In the first three months of the year, the growth in revenues from interest made it possible to increase net profit, consequently the “dividends accrued amounted to 1.4 billion euro: of these, approximately 40% are intended for households companies and our shareholder foundations, allowing for important social interventions in the territories to which they belong”, explained the CEO. “The direct and indirect taxes generated – he concluded – amount to 1.4 billion euros, this entails an increase of around 300 million compared to the first quarter of 2022, with an increase in the benefit brought by Intesa Sanpaolo’s accounts to the public budget” .

Messina’s position differs from that expressed by other exponents of the banking world. Andrea Orcel, CEO of Unicreditpresenting his brilliant accounts, said that any levy is not justified: “I believe that banks, like any other industry, must play their social role. Raising taxes only on them does not seem justified to me. Above all, it could push banks not to continue in their social role”, underlined a Milan Finance Class Cnbc. For Orcel “the banks come from 15 years in which they have not remunerated the cost of capital and I have never seen a reduction in interest rates in those 15 years”; secondly “the banks, at least we, continue to spend: we have spent 35 million for our foundation on all education in Italy in particular, we have paid 80 million more to our employees to help them with expensive energy, created – he remembered – a limit for families who were unable to pay their mortgages by spacing the repayment times. We also did it for businesses. And we continue – he concluded – to invest in the country”.

From the Abi, in some interventions in the press in recent days, the same amount of opposition has emerged. General Manager Giovanni Sabatini spoke of the possibility that a possible tax could increase the risk of a credit crunch.

Returning to Intesa, the bank fired the quarter beyond expectations with a net profit of around 2 billion euros (1.96 billion), up sharply compared to 1.04 billion in the same period last year and 1.08 billion in the fourth quarter of 2022. The result is driven by net interest. The bank, rewarded by increases on the Stock Exchange, expects a significant increase in operating margin, deriving from solid growth in revenues driven by net interest (net interest expected in 2023 of over 13 billion euros) and a continued focus on cost management, and a sharp decline in net adjustments to loans, with a consequent increase in net income to approximately 7 billion euros.