Now that the disaster is a fait accompli, they wonder damage. In the front row in the dining request against MPS, check the Coop Centro Italy who sued the bank and Consob claiming damages of 137 million for its investment in the Siena bank. Investment which, as is known, for all the shareholders was in fact burned. And that investment has been heavy the numbers say. Much of the accumulated losses of 100 million by the Cooperative from 2012 to 2014 are the result of their own actions writedowns of Mps. Only in 2014 the shares of the Sienese bank in the portfolio have been written down by 67 million. And in total 2012-2014 financial corrections have exceeded 140 million, offsetting the industrial profitability.
Flurry of requests damages in MPS: Coop wants 137 million. A total of 283 million
But what is not said in the damages claim is that Coop Centro Italy was not only a shareholder of MPS, was for a long time also be a debtor of the bank. A sort of double role of shareholder and customer that we have seen unfortunately in many banking crises situations where the interests of the shareholder and the customer overlapped in a doubt of conflicting interests are involved. The Cooperative in 2014 was under way mortgages with MPS Capital Service for 13 million, maturing 2020. And another 32 million loan with Banca Toscana (always the MPS Group), with maturity in 2018. In the course of 2015, as stated in budget, the Coop Centro Italy advance refund the mortgage to 32 million, but among the tick debts a fresh new fresh mortgage with MPS capital service to 65 million. At the end of 2015, then, between old and new lending exposure to the overall Sienese bank amounts to 78 million. It is almost half of bank exposure of the cooperative.
One wonders if the bitter duty paid after entering the capital of the bank as a shareholder was partially offset by favorable mortgage rates. It will not happen of course but that uncomfortable role of shareholder and major customer is not to be underestimated. But there is only Mps among risky investments of the Cooperative. The company is also member of the Banca Popolare di Spoleto, finished commissioner and finally acquired by Banco di Desio. Even that investment has produced losses for the supermarket chain.
not an isolated case, but the rule
The incident Coop Italy Centro is neither a isolated case, nor an exception. Is the rule for the system of Italian cooperatives, they do finance a parallel business to the typical nature of their mandate, that of supermarket chains. Suffice it to recall another case that proved a source of heavy losses for the largest of the Italian Coop. The Unicoop Florence, historic MPS partner for years, has sacrificed on the altar of the Siena bank the tune of over 200 million loss before leaving by shares. And then, the hole from 54 million for the writedown of Banca Carige shares held by Coop Liguria.
RELATED
After all it is the ‘ whole system of Italian consumer cooperatives to have chosen the way of finance, often risky or better induced by political and corporate plots as its modus vivendi . Rather than large financial holding supermarkets. The numbers say. The Coop system, a giant 11 billion in revenue, funded with over $ 10 billion by the customers associates through the loan-members, which effectively acts as a co-operative bank universe, for years has been struggling in its core business. Manage the supermarkets is an activity that does not earn.
As documented R & amp; S Mediobanca net operating income (that is, the typical management) traveling at least since 2010 in percentage of net sales close to zero. That slightly more than 2% of net profits on sales that the system produces are not from the supermarket management, but from finance.
Then the Coop Without investment would not be profitable. And though this would not be their job. Also, unfortunate that many of these investments have proved a boomerang as in the case of MPS or Carige. Good for the bankers of having Coop returns from government bonds and other bonds. But if you look closely you could do more with less risk.
In the last five years, as yet documented R & amp; S Mediobanca, the whole of the Coop system has realized proceeds from finance to more than a billion, but suffered impairment (losses) always from finance for over 814 million . The positive balance is so in the end very little. It was enough to invest in a balanced fund, rather than politically contiguous banks, to get much higher returns with less risk.
Or should rather make more profitable the supermarket management. Finance, even the daring, no longer serve to make ends meet.
© All rights reserved
No comments:
Post a Comment