Italian banks up as tweaks to bank tax give lenders option to boost reserves
25/09/2023 09:19
** Italy's bank index .FTITLMS3010 rises 0.5% after news
that Italy will tweak a contested windfall tax on banks
** It will give lenders the option to boost their
non-distributable reserves by an amount equivalent to 2.5x the
levy instead of paying the tax, government documents seen by
Reuters show
** "A game-changing detail," Jefferies says
** "If the stated payout ratio is below 80% the bank could
set aside the capital reserve without any changes to the
distribution policy," the broker adds
** A Milan-based trader says: "Finally the law, which will
still impact the entire sector, has been defined, and even if it
has been changed it remains in line with what was expected"
** Last month, Rome imposed a one-off 40% tax on income
derived from higher interest rates
** By 0818 GMT, Banco BPM BAMI.MI is up 2.7%, BPER Banca
is up 2%, and Monte Dei Paschi is up 2.3%
(Reporting by Federica Urso)
((federica.urso@tr.com))