Italy's IFIS shares plunge, cuts outlook as it moves to sell bad loan business (updated)

Banca Ifis

26/06/2026 07:23

Adds share move in para 3, analyst comment in para 14
By Enrico Sciacovelli and Valentina Za

    MILAN, June 26 (Reuters) - Italian specialty lender Banca IFIS IF.MI said it was auctioning off its bad loan business and cut its 2026 net profit guidance after setting aside additional provisions following a supervisory audit, sending its shares tumbling on Friday.
The Venice-based bank now expects its net income in a range of €100-€110 million ($114-$125 million), compared to the previous estimate of €170-€190 million, it said in a statement late on Thursday.
At 0800 GMT, the stock was halted from trading after falling 23.78% to €16.25, the lowest share price since February 2024.
IFIS, controlled by Italy's von Fürstenberg family, said it had booked additional provisions for €70 million, of which €30 million tied to its loan book.
The rest are tied to securitized loan portfolios it owns after acquiring bad loan specialist illimity last year. It also bought Euclidea SIM in a consolidation wave sweeping the sector. It has since been shedding non-core assets.
The additional provisions follow the preliminary findings of a Bank of Italy inspection.
CEO Frederik Geertman said the central bank would issue a final report on its findings by early September. He did not rule out the need for further adjustments.
Geertman said the decision to sell the bad loan business reflected guidelines on how smaller lenders under direct Bank of Italy supervision should apply rules on provisions against impaired loans.
The Bank of Italy's supervisory arm outlined these guidelines in September, Geertman said.

PROBLEMS EMERGING AMONG ITALY'S SMALLER BANKS
The profit warning by IFIS is the latest example of trouble emerging among Italy's smaller banks following regulatory action under the leadership of the Bank of Italy's chief supervisor Giuseppe Siani.
The central bank has placed Oaktree-owned Banca Progetto under special administration and appointed two temporary commissioners to work alongside specialist lender BFF Bank's BFF.MI board following supervisory findings on its accounting and internal controls.
Once Europe's biggest bad loan market, Italy has seen new non performing loans dry up thanks to state guarantees for bank credit and tighter lending criteria that sharply cut the portion of new loans turning sour.  
IFIS manages €1.5 billion in non performing loans, mostly unsecured and of small size, it said.
"We believe that the focus remains the ability to recover profitability in 2027," broker EQUITA said in a note, seeing the outlook downgrade in the context of a transition year dedicated to integration and de-risking.

($1 = 0.8790 euros)

 (Reporting by Enrico Sciacovelli and Valentina Za, editing by Alvise Armellini and Gavin Jones)
 ((Enrico.Sciacovelli@thomsonreuters.com; +48587720309;))