Newsroom, January 22, 2016
MILAN — A “run” has begun on Italian Banks, with Depositors taking out money in a PANIC, fearing they will lose everything if they leave their money deposited.
Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA’s shares shed one fifth of their value after plunging for a third consecutive day Wednesday, as the bank scrambled to reassure investors its finances are solid.
The bank said that it had suffered outflow of deposits as a result of market jitters and that its accounts had improved in the last quarter.
The bank’s Chief Executive Fabrizio Viola said in a statement that deposit outflows were limited and lower than those that had taken place in 2013.
In February 2013, it emerged the bank was entangled in a legal scandal involving loss-making complex financial transactions, something that spooked investors and caused a deposit-outflow of “some billions,” the bank said in April that year.
But Mr. Viola’s words didn’t stop the massive selloff.
Trading in the bank’s shares was suspended for most of Wednesday’s session and shares ended up shedding 22.2%. Since Monday, the bank’s shares have lost 46% of their value, plunging to €0.51 ($0.56) per share. Since the beginning of the year, the bank’s share price has declined 58%.
The bank is now capitalized at roughly €1.6 billion, despite having tapped investors for €8 billion in the last two years to pay back a €4 billion government loan and shore up its capital position, amid mounting bad loans and a chronic lack of profitability.
“It’s pure panic, we are going beyond the prospects of the bank’s low profitability,” said Vincenzo Longo, a strategist at IG Markets in Milan.
The bank will post fourth-quarter earnings on Feb. 5.
In 2012, the bank started to implement a drastic restructuring plan, aimed at bringing it into the black and to pay back a €4 billion government loan. For the first half of last year, the bank posted a net profit of €194 million, after having accumulated losses of over €10 billion in earnings periods since the second quarter of 2012.
But it posted a €109 million loss for the third quarter, mainly due to a one-off hit caused by the unwinding in September of a complex structured-product transaction.
It also tapped investors for €8 billion in the last two years to pay back a €4 billion government loan and shore up its capital position, amid mounting bad loans and a chronic lack of profitability.
Meanwhile, UniCredit SpA’s Chief Executive Federico Ghizzoni ruled out any intervention to support Monte dei Paschi, adding that he had received no requests from the Italian government to do so.
Sources in the financial markets throughout Europe have confirmed to SuperStation95 that “These bank runs will spread” to other countries, with one analyst saying “This is the beginning of the end for all of Europe.”
Bad Loans Crash-Avalanche
In fact, it is likely to spread to Germany next. Just this week, Germany’s largest bank, Deutsche Bank, revealed they will post a loss of 6.7 BILLION Euros for last year; the worst loss in that bank’s entire history! Investors were stunned by this news and there is now open and public worry that Deutsch Bank may not be solvent.
Elsewhere in Europe, banks admitted last week they are sitting on . . . . . . ONE TRILLION IN BAD LOANS . . . . . and may have to be “re-capitalized.” Therein lies the problem: Under the new banking laws, governments will no longer “bail-out” banks. Instead, the banks must be “bailed-IN” by taking money from DEPOSITORS and replacing that with newly-issued stock in each bank! Average citizens would lose a major portion of all accounts in each bank (Checking, Savings, Certificates of Deposit, IRA/401-K Retirement plans, etc.) and would be given shares in the bank as compensation. The trouble is, depositors cannot pay their bills or eat with stocks.
In the United States, Wells Fargo admitted during a conference call this week, their commercial loan portfolio contains “$17 Billion” in loans that they described as “less than investment grade.” That was a nice way of saying “bad loans.” Wells Fargo made things worse when they admitted they only have $1.2 Billion set-aside to cover bad loans. So if all $17 Billion are bad, where will the other $15.8 Billion come from? YOU! Your checking, savings, CD, IRA, 401-K will all be “levied” by the bank to cover its losses!
Also in the US, the Chairman of Citibank refused this week, to disclose how much in bad loans are on their books! He also refused to reveal how much cash the bank has set-aside to cover bad loans! It is not a good sign when a bank Chairman refuses to disclose how bad things might be. After that stockholder conference call, rumors began to circulate that Citibank may be “in bad financial shape.”
If true, where will Citibank get the money to cover its losses? YOU! Your checking, savings, CD, IRA/401-K retirement accounts will all be levied to cover the bank’s losses and you will be given stock in the bank as compensation. How will you pay your bills with stock? How will you eat?
When the analysts mentioned earlier said “This will spread” and “This is the beginning of the end for Europe” people stood-up and took notice. Now a “run” is taking place against banks in Italy. If those analysts are correct, then the contagion could spread to the United States. Will YOU be one of the people who leaves his money at a bank while it fails? How will you eat if that happens? How will your family eat?
In the movie “Forrest Gump” he famously said “stupid is as stupid does.” Are YOU stupid?
