UNIVERSITÀ DEGLI STUDI DI PADOVA DIPARTIMENTO DI SCIENZE ECONOMICHE ED AZIENDALI “M.FANNO” CORSO DI LAUREA MAGISTRALE / SPECIALISTICA IN BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION TESI DI LAUREA “THE REFORM OF THE ITALIAN MUTUAL BANKS: THE IMPLICATIONS ON THEIR OPERATIONS” RELATORE: CH.MO PROF. FRANCESCO ZEN LAUREANDO/A: MARZIA ROSANI MATRICOLA N. 1106004 ANNO ACCADEMICO 2015 – 2016 Il candidato dichiara che il presente lavoro è originale e non è già stato sottoposto, in tutto o in parte, per il conseguimento di un titolo accademico in altre Università italiane o straniere. Il candidato dichiara altresì che tutti i materiali utilizzati durante la preparazione dell’elaborato sono stati indicati nel testo e nella sezione “Riferimenti bibliografici” e che le eventuali citazioni testuali sono individuabili attraverso l’esplicito richiamo alla pubblicazione originale. Firma dello studente _________________ ABSTRACT Questa tesi ha lo scopo di analizzare la riforma delle Banche di Credito Cooperativo in Italia emanata nel febbraio 2016 che prevede la riorganizzazione del credito cooperativo secondo il modello del gruppo bancario cooperativo regolato dal contratto di coesione. Nel primo capitolo viene analizzato il testo della Legge 14 Febbraio 2016 n. 18, TUB, considerandone i relativi effetti. Nel secondo capitolo vengono studiati i modelli di Crédit Agricole e Rabobank, considerati i principali gruppi bancari cooperativi in Europa che potrebbero essere considerati come esempi per la riforma delle BCC italiane. Nel terzo capitolo, vengono analizzati i principi finanziari che potrebbero rappresentare una guida per la redazione del contratto di coesione. I principi finanziari considerati sono quelli sui quali si basano alcune rilevanti istituzioni finanziarie, quali, il Fondo Interbancario di Tutela di Depositi, le Agenzie di Rating e quelli contenuti nei piani di recupero bancari redatti dall’European Banking Authority. Nel quarto capitolo vengono valutati i possibili scenari ai quali potrebbe portare lo sviluppo della riforma. In conclusione emerge che il contratto di coesione dovrebbe essere basato su un sistema di indicatori e misurazione dei rischi volto a monitorare l’adeguatezza patrimoniale, la liquiditá e la solvibilitá di ogni banca aderente al gruppo al fine di identificare tempestivamente situazioni di criticitá finanziaria. Per quanto riguarda il nuovo riassetto organizzativo del credito cooperativo italiano, un accordo definitivo non é ancora stato raggiunto, tuttavia attualmente la formazione di due gruppi bancari cooperativi sembra essere quella piú probabile. 1 2 CONTENT INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................... 5 CHAPTER 1 - THE REFORM OF THE ITALIAN MUTUAL BANKS: ANALYSIS OF THE NEW LAW ..................................................................................... 7 1.1 THE MUTUAL SECTOR AND THE BANCHE DI CREDITO COOPERATIVO: A COMPLEX FINANCIAL LANDSCAPE ........................................................................ 7 1.2 OVERVIEW OF THE BCCs REFORM ........................................................................ 10 1.3 ANALYSIS OF THE LAW 14th FEBRUARY 2016, N. 18.......................................... 18 1.4 CONSEQUENCES OF THE NEW LEGISLATION ..................................................... 32 CHAPTER 2 - ANALYSIS OF FOREIGN COOPERATIVE BANKING MODELS: CRÉDIT AGRICOL AND RABOBANK ................................................... 35 2.1 COOPERATIVE BANKING GROUP MODELS IN EUROPE: DEVELOPMENT OF NETWORK CENTRAL INSTITUTIONS ............................................................... 35 2.2 ANALYSIS OF CRÉDIT AGRICOLE GROUP ........................................................... 39 2.3 ANALYSIS OF RABOBANK GROUP ......................................................................... 44 2.4 OVERVIEW OF THE ITALIAN COOPERATIVE BANKING SYSTEM IN THE EUROPEAN CONTEXT ................................................................................................ 50 CHAPTER 3 - THE CONTRACT OF COHESION: ON WHAT PRINCIPLES SHOULD IT BE BASED? ........................................................................... 53 3.1 ANALYSIS OF FITD FINANCIAL PRINCIPLES ....................................................... 53 3.2 ANALYSIS OF BANKING RATING PRINCIPLES .................................................... 64 3.3 ANALYSIS OF BANK RECOVERY PLANS .............................................................. 71 3.4 WHAT PRINCIPLES SHOULD THE CONTRACT OF COHESION INCLUDE? ..... 77 CHAPTER 4 - THE COOPERATIVE BANKING GROUP MODEL: EVALUATION OF POSSIBLE SCENARIOS ...................................................................... 87 4.1 THE CRITICAL ASPECTS OF THE REFORM ........................................................... 87 4.2 ONE OR TWO COOPERATIVE BANKING GROUPS? ............................................. 91 3 4.3 ANOTHER PROPOSAL OF REFORM ........................................................................ 95 4.4 FINAL CONSIDERATIONS ABOUT THE FUTURE OF ITALIAN BCCs ............... 98 CONCLUSION..................................................................................................................... 101 BIBLIOGRAPHY ................................................................................................................ 103 4 INTRODUCTION Mutual Banks have traditionally represented an important portion of the Italian banking business, with strong ties to local businesses. The Article 45 of the Italian Constitution recognizes the social function of the mutual sector, characterized by a mutual cooperation without goals of private speculation. In Italy two kinds of mutual banking systems are present, the Banche del Credito Cooperativo (BCCs) and the Banche Popolari. However, despite their common mutual nature, they have developed different characteristics through the years. While the Banche Popolari have progressively moved by their original nature, transforming themselves into joint-stock companies, the BCCs have always remained deeply rooted in the local territory of their competence maintaining their mutual features. In my thesis I will focus on the BCCs and on the current reform that aims to improve their structure considered no more suitable to survive in an always more complex financial landscape characterized by the consequences of the financial crisis of 2007-2008, by the evolution of the regulation and supervision systems and by the needs of change required by the technological progress. This situation is not different by the one faced by the whole banking system. However, the BCCs find themselves in a weak situation as their model of governance limits their capacity to increase their capital and the strong link to the local territory does not allow an adequate diversification level exposing the banks to high risks of financial distress. The Italian Credito Cooperativo is a system based on a network comprising 381 cooperative banks including Banche di Credito Cooperativo, Casse Rurali, Casse Raiffeisen in Alto Adige and several service companies, all working together to guarantee a complete and diversified range of products in accordance with their cooperative values. The associative structure is subdivided into three levels: local (BCCs), regional (Local Federations) and national (Federcasse). The individual BCCs are associated with the Local Federations (representing one or more regions) which in turn are members of Federcasse, the Italian Federation of BCCs. Federcasse represents and protects the rights of its associated banks, offering them legal, fiscal, and organizational assistance, providing also support in communications and training leading benefits to the entire Cooperative Credit system. The first Italian cooperative bank was Cassa Rurale di Loreggia founded in 1883 by Leone Wollemborg, in the province of Padova. During the fascist period many cooperative banks were 5 ordered to close. However, after the second Wold War, the advent of the Italian Republic and of the Italian Constitution have recognized the social role of the mutual cooperatives, relaunching Casse Rurali and Artigiane. In 1950 Federcasse (Federazione Italiana delle Casse Rurali e Artigiane), originally founded in 1909, was reformed and become a member of Confcooperative in 1967. Iccrea (Istituto di Credito delle Casse Rurali e Artigiane) was founded in 1963, with the goal of facilitating, coordinating and improving the activities of individual cooperative banks through financial intermediation and assistance. In 1993 the Casse Rurali e Artigiane changed their name into Banche di Credito Cooperativo (BCCs). In the same year the Consolidated Banking Law (Testo Unico Bancario) came into force, lifting the legal limitations which had previously governed the banking operations of cooperative banks. Nowadays, the BCCs reform is thought to provide a solution to the weaknesses of the cooperative sector to enforce BCCs and to enable them to compete at European level. The aim of this thesis is to analyse the current reform evaluating the effects of the new Law at structural and national level. In the first chapter I will analyse the text of the reform, the Law of 14th February 2016 N. 18, highlighting the main innovations introduced in the system and considering the main implied financial effects. In the second chapter I will study the two main European mutual banking groups: Crédit Agricole and Rabobank, deepening the mechanisms of their internal structure such as the cross-guarantee