Current accounts, Unicredit says to stop the card. Ad Mustier: "From 2020, all exclusively digital operations"

Nowadays, the banking sector has become very complicated, new technologies are constantly changing. Now, for a group like Unicredit, nearly 96% of operations are self-service. As a result, we need to be a credible bank for customers and the people who work there. The transformation plan was aimed at this goal and we can now say that the goals have been achieved. We are already working on the new plan that we will present in December … Jean Pierre Mustier, 58, General Director of the Institute of Piazza Gae Aulenti, will nowadays go around the investors to tell the results, but mostly to say what Unicredit wants to become.

There has been talk of your interest in Commerzbank.
I have never commented on these rumors. I am simply saying that mergers in Europe are very complicated and that we are aiming for organic growth. Unicredit a pan-European bank, able to offer services to customers and businesses. Support them in their development and international growth.

You have been chosen as President of the European Banking Federation. But Europe still has 28 countries. 28 authority …
That's the point. Europe, to become more attractive for international capital, must be seen as a more integrated system. In the United States, nobody makes the difference between Pennsylvania and California when it decides to invest in the dollar zone. Well, on the Old Continent, we must make efforts to reach this level of integration. Only in this way can we increase our ability to attract capital. More and more needed to fuel business growth. Especially for the fabric of small and medium enterprises, which generate 70% of jobs in Europe.

Will your project on new patient capital serve this purpose?
In collaboration with a few major managers, we have created a platform of up to 2 billion euros for long-term minority stakes in SMEs. The transformation has made us a much stronger bank than before, as badysts now recognize.

Was there a phase of great uncertainty regarding management choices?
However, I will not tell the team that I have chosen the one that is currently working on refining the new strategic plan and then having the task of carrying it out. I've shot everyone from businesses to businesses. One way to have new points of view and not fall into the trap of the routine. We needed a fresher vision of strategies and risks, we have it now.

The times are complicated for the banks, the competition of the non-banks is reinforced and the customers are not more willing to support mediocre and expensive services …
I tell you what we did in Turkey, where we are paperless, one hundred percent, paperless. In Italy by 2020, we will make all paperless retail activities a better and more sustainable service for the planet. Simplifying processes means being able to spend more time with customers. In Germany, it took 80 minutes to open an account, we fell to 14 minutes. We will take these standards across the group.

And Italy?
Italy remains at the center of our concerns, we are a pan-European bank listed in Milan, with headquarters in Milan. In new technologies, we will invest one billion per year to develop new solutions. And many will concern Italy. Personally, I continue to visit branches and places, ride with my 500 red. To hear what the bank thinks, it's worth much more than reading a 50-page report.

About our country, you remain as optimistic as when you arrived …
I am convinced that Italy has many badets. the second European manufacturing, not just luxury and food, but a technological industry. a country with a financial wealth of families superior to that of the Germans. He did not suffer from social fractures, like those that occur in France with yellow vests. And it has a more coherent social structure. Of course, GDP growth at 0.1-0.2% remains slow. But not just a problem of this country. The risk that I see the slowdown in the United States when the impact of tax cuts is exhausted, which will have consequences for other economies. I see one or two clients a day, and what I perceive is the demand for a bank that can support them, on which they can rely. Nevertheless, many continue to invest and focus on developing new markets. Italian entrepreneurship remains one of the strongest in the world.

Carige issue …
I repeat that our plan, also in Italy, provides for organic growth. If the Italian banking system is necessary, we are ready to support, with all the other operators, on a fair and proportional basis.

The European vote: are there many fears of fragmentation after Brexit?
We will not have many surprises. One thing seems certain to me: what is not good for Europe, not even for Italy. it is necessary that more capital, in the form of loans or equity, reaches the enterprises. We want to do this work and greater European integration would help a lot.

There are so many bureaucratic constraints …
We must make Europe a true internal market if we want to contribute to growth. We need more investors to strengthen pension funds, long-term investors.

In Unicredit, the first partner Mubadala?
Yes, and among the top five, three are US financial institutions. But for the market, you need more.

During the quarter, you made $ 1.4 billion in profits, but how much did you send to businesses?
Loans to the Italian system amounted to 143 billion, up more than 4% compared to the same period in 2018. And we hope to further increase our commitment. We place great importance on our patient capital plan: we will invest in Italian companies alongside a select group of managers. We want to be business allies in their growth trajectory, acquiring minority stakes in a long-term perspective.

Do you want to reduce the BTP quota?
We are one of the leading state bond dealers and our $ 54 billion portfolio. We hope to gradually reduce the position to align it with the average of our Italian and international competitors. This does not mean that we want to sell it, we will not renew certain deadlines.

The sale of 17% of Fineco contributed to the ratios …
a journey that has been going on for some time and is part of the progressive strategy to reduce our participation. Thus, Fineco will be more and more independent.

Is the social banking project going forward?
We made loans for social impact activities of $ 65 million. Half went to microcredit operations, averaging 20,000 euros for subjects who would not have had access to credit. Initiatives, micro-enterprises are born. I believe deeply and I consider that it is a priority. When I was in London, I personally raised 150 million euros for social entrepreneurship. A great satisfaction.

Have you divorced from Facebook?
We want to improve proprietary digital channels to ensure high-quality, confidential dialogue channels with our customers.