07-23-2016, 07:35 AM
The government of Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi on Friday put the finishing touches on his signature employment reforms which he says are already rousing a sclerotic labour market despite fierce resistance from trade unions. The final steps approved by cabinet aim to make job centres more efficient, broaden unemployment benefits and give employers more power to monitor their workers' performance. They complete a policy package first presented by Renzi 15 months ago.
Italy's Renzi completes labour reform, growth needed for jobs | Reuters
Over the past 18 months, Renzi has tackled the labor market, the banking sector, education and the public administration, among other areas, even though few reforms are yet operational and their long-term impact remains to be seen.
Businesses hail Renzi's reforms, urge more to speed Italy's upturn | Reuters
Monte dei Paschi was first founded in Siena in 1472, making it the oldest existing bank on earth, but shares have lost more than 99% of their value since the pre-financial crisis years. There are also big fears about the amount of poor quality assets and loans the bank has on its books. The bank's chief executive, Fabrizio Viola, is currently in the middle of a battle to make it profitable again, by, amongst other things, dumping risky assets.
Monte dei Paschi di Siena buyout rumours - Business Insider
Out of many of the euro zone's banking systems, Italy's has been one of the most scrutinized, with the sector facing some 360 billion euros ($411.5 billion) in bad loans. However, despite the turbulence, experts suggest the country's financial system isn't nearly as bad as the market thinks. "The actual issue of the Italian banking system has been by far highly overestimated," Valerio De Molli, managing partner of The European House – Ambrosetti, told CNBC on the sidelines of the Ambrosetti workshop, over the weekend. "If you look into the gross amount of non-performing loans (NPLs), you have quite an immense figure; we are the worst in Europe in comparison to total lending. We are one third higher than European average, that's bad." "However, if you look into the net figures, all relevant banks have already amortized those costs and eventual risks. So that's one fact which is underestimated and under-evaluated in my opinion."