Doctor Orcel, for the first time the Executive Committee and the Board of UniCredit, or the bank’s control room, met in Naples: a tribute to the city or what?
«In the meantime, since I have been CEO, together with the president Pier Carlo Padoan, it is the second time that the Board is itinerant, after Rome and before the other stops planned in Munich and Vienna: it is a choice that aims to favor the direct contact and knowledge of the reality of the territories in which we are rooted”, he answers very sincerely Andrea Orcel, CEO of UniCredit which under his direction has obtained important results, starting with the benefits, with a profit in 2022 of 5,200 million euros and a last quarter that has been the best in history.
And how was the impression in Naples?
«I returned some thirty years after having been involved in the city, with the investment bank for which I worked at the time, in the privatization of the Banco di Napoli. Compared to then I found a city profoundly changed for the better.”
Post-scudetto enthusiasm in football or encouraging economic data?
«Naples is the paradigm of a growing South, which shows that the country’s old gap must be overcome once and for all. The boost that Italy needs can only come from narrowing this gap and we will all benefit from it. For this reason, one of my objectives at the head of UniCredit from the beginning was the need to pay the same attention to the North and the South and, therefore, to understand what we could do concretely in Naples ».
That is, sponsoring the San Carlo theater, supporting the third sector
“Exactly. But when we took advantage of the San Carlo opportunity, we didn’t limit ourselves to the cultural aspect, which is invaluable to say the least, but also to the social one. We were also interested in the Officine del Teatro because we wanted to link that history with the job opportunities that are guaranteed to young people, helping to build their future in the local territory, not far from it.The important thing, I often repeat, is to believe in the goal set: the Scudetto, for example, a truly exceptional feat, is the clearest demonstration of This is an example for us at UniCredit as well. If you believe in it and put your all into it, the result will come in the end.”
There has been a South on the move for some time, do you see this trend too?
“Absolutely. The problem is that there is still a lack of communication about the potential that this area offers. There are investment fund opportunities in the South that are even better than those traditionally offered in the North but they are unknown. Return from proper South marketing to its potential it must become an urgent need. We are trying to do it, continue supporting the economy with business disbursements that have grown by 13 percent in the last year despite the difficult context, hiring 150 young people starting in 2021 and offering our services to 2 million clients in the South”.
Meanwhile, doubts and not exactly optimistic perspectives on the Pnrr are accumulating.
“I am not going to enter the political debate. I limit myself to observing that even if only a part of the billions of the Pnrr were spent, reserving 40% for the South as required by law, and used well, the effect would be extremely positive. It would be additional and real funds in the South for investments in infrastructure and technological growth of companies: wouldn’t it be a turning point in every way? I really do. And the huge growth margins linked to renewables in the South? Now we have to throw our hearts beyond the obstacle: we have supported the Gigafactory in Catania that will become the largest European factory for photovoltaic modules and the new lithium battery plant in Caserta, an increasingly strategic sector for the energy sector. automotive”.
Growth, albeit slow, in the South has relied heavily on tourism in recent months, but is that enough in a long-term perspective?
«Tourism is one of the great potentialities of the South but not the only one. However, it will be necessary to increase investment in tourism infrastructure to consolidate growth margins. Even the technological challenge can acquire strategic value: just look at what happened in Naples with the establishment of Apple and other Academies through Federico II University, where we have also invested with our Techno Hub, and remember that Campania is the third region. by the number of innovative startups. If the conditions are created to improve the job offer, Napoli would have everything necessary to win the attractiveness challenge. I would avoid training people who will then inevitably leave because there is no suitable fabric for their skills. Topics that we will also address at the local Forum in June with the main players”.
Can the Zes affect this prospect of change?
“Without a doubt. If it is possible to start a cycle with Zes, Pnrr and other coherent options, it will lead to going beyond subsidies, as has already happened in Ireland, which has benefited from a lot of growth support in the past, has implemented and now guarantees financial services of absolute reliability.If you want to create an investment fund, go there or go to Luxembourg.Italy, also thanks to the law on the return of brains, can compete with other countries allowing to compensate the difference in wages that others can guarantee. However, for this system to be structural, the conditions of attractiveness of our country must also be improved, otherwise everything risks becoming useless.”
