MilanFibanc, the pioneering entity in investment funds founded by the Catalan Carles Tusquets, was acquired in 2000 by the Italian Mediolanum. A quarter of a century later, the entity has around 250,000 clients in Spain with a model of financial advisers who are not on staff, and manages around 11,800 million euros. This week the bank, one of Silvio Berlusconi’s great business ventures, has invited a group of journalists to Milan to learn more about its business. The number 2 of the entity, the Italian Igor Garzesi, served the ARA.
Is the model of banking through financial advisors elitist?
— No, not at all. It is a model that suits all kinds of customers. We are a bank of retail. When we entered Spain we did one discussion group and we were explaining to them that the model is to have a person next to the client, even if they don’t have a large estate, who can visit them at home, who they can call at the weekend. And they told us “beautiful, but impossible”. But it was possible. We have some high net worth clients and some from retail and we explain financial culture to them and teach them how to save. Unfortunately, human beings sometimes forget about it in the long run, and look at the day to day.
A person who saves little or nothing, what can he do to save?
— Well, get into it as soon as possible. He needs to have a financial advisor by his side to look at why he’s not saving, to help him look at his expenses. And find a way to save no matter how little it is, because with compound interest, that little savings today will be a lot in the long run.
Is it because people don’t have somewhat sophisticated financial plans for lack of savings or lack of knowledge?
— Knowledge is very important. Ours family bankers they become transmitters of financial culture. When the customer talks to it, they understand a lot more.
Have you calculated how much the financial situation of a family with pension plans, investment funds, etc. improves compared to a family that does not?
— The ability to increase the wealth of families changes completely. Our customers have a profitability that ranks them among the first places in the ranking both in Spain and Italy and their degree of satisfaction is very high.
There are citizens who are reluctant to these products for fear of the stock market. How do you convince them?
— I tell them that every time they go to sleep, there is a part of the world that gets up and works, and your capital is always working. But this is not linear; if it were there would be no need for a financial advisor. You need someone to tell you “if it goes down now, it will go up again”, and to tell you that if you see the stock market going down and you want to sell to save the furniture, it’s a mistake. Sometimes it’s about not touching anything or even buying more. That’s what happened on that black Monday in August. It was absurd. How long did it take for the stock market to rise? few days And how many people disinvested? A lot of people who were not accompanied.
Finance, after medicine, is the most important thing for the human being”
You who have lived in Barcelona: how is the financial knowledge of the Catalan client compared to the Italian one?
— There is a lack of financial knowledge in both countries. Universities and schools need to help spread financial culture to everyone. We alone cannot make this change. Finances, after medicine, are the most important thing that human beings must have in their lives: to have health to enjoy more years of life and to have financial capacity so that these years are good.
Their advisors are self-employed and receive 100% of their remuneration through variable remuneration. Isn’t this model too hard?
– No! They have no roof. It’s a plus, it’s up to them. And what should they do? Take care of the customer. It’s a fantastic model. It has only one way to grow, which is that the customer does not leave it and is happy with it and recommends it. And the more money that comes in, the more money he has.
What if you have an accident?
— The heritage you have continues to work, you don’t need to take care of it every day.
Do you foresee banking suffering with the rate cut?
– Obviously. This will affect traditional banking more than us and yes it may suffer, as it suffered in the era of negative rates, which is when there were big restructurings.
How far do you think rates will drop?
— I think we are reaching a point of normalcy and that rates will be between 2%, 2.5% or 3%. We’ve had seven years of negative rates, which is crazy. And then came a sudden increase, with values of up to 3.5%-4%, which are not very high either.
What is your prognosis for the European, Spanish and Italian economy?
— The prognosis is positive. We always see the glass as half full and I think the environment is improving; inflation is solved. We have to keep an eye on what might happen geopolitically, but we’ve been through the worst.
I think that the opa in Sabadell will go ahead and this will be an opportunity for us”
What is your opinion of the Sabadell auction?
— I think that the auction will go ahead in the end and this will be an opportunity for us to sign professionals and have new clients.
It was his turn to live in Catalonia at the peak of the process. Did it affect the bank’s operations?
— There was a moment, in 2017, with the risk of a unilateral declaration of independence, that we worried about being disconnected from the European Central Bank (ECB). And we moved the headquarters to Valencia for the sake of the customers, to make sure that the bank was in European territory without any doubt. It was the only thing that worried us.
Do you foresee the return of headquarters?
— It is simply a formal matter, and not a substantial one. The operational headquarters have always been in Barcelona and the fiscal headquarters have always been in Barcelona. It is a matter of social reason and there is no reason to do it.
Source: www.ara.cat
