Wall Street Italia | February 2023
At such a pivotal time for our country, banks, financial networks, the associations representing them, and regulators can do a lot to support Italians, their families and businesses.
FINER’s latest surveys brought to light 5 main challenges.
- PROTECTING THE SAVINGS OF ITALIANS
Italians need good consultancy in order to protect one of their most valuable assets, that is their savings. This need has become quite urgent for three main reasons.
First of all, protecting the purchase value; in fact, keeping liquid assets with a yearly inflation rate of 8% means losing money.
Second: in the financial field, if you want something done, do it yourself. Only 19% of Italians operating as non-professional traders have gained money, which means that 81% of them have lost their money.
Furthermore, investing means giving a stimulus to real economy, thus activating a virtuous circle that restarts economy and generates benefit for everyone.
- PROTECTION
Only 10% of Italians are adequately protected from basic risks: home, health, and life. This is a widespread tendency even among affluent Italians, a strategic segment for dozens of banks and financial networks.
Over 20% of them do not have suitable financial coverage protecting their assets and have not dealt with the issue of the generational shift.
The reason tends to remain the same: keeping liquid assets in case of emergency.
Instead, defusing risks with suitable insurance coverage would free part of the liquid assets to be turned into assets under management.
- ITALIAN BUSINESSES AND ENTREPRENEURS
In Italy, more than in other countries, businesses and entrepreneurs involve several mediators and many professionals; thus, very few of them have a unified vision.
One professional for managing money, another for real estate assets, others deal with ordinary banking activities, gaining access to credit, corporate finance operations; finally, a broker or an agent for insurance policies.
In this respect, there are two schools of thought: 1) “holistic” consultancy, which mixes protection, investments, and credit; 2) “pure” financial consultancy.
Both models record successful instances. Of course, much depends on the type of client and the possibility to jointly manage different skills.
- PROACTIVITY AND COMMUNICATION
75% of Italians with an average annual balance of €200K have not been in contact with their contact person for investments in over 12 months.
All together, the financial, banking and insurance sectors invest in communication 1% of the amount of money they invest in other sectors individually (cars, FMGCs, durable goods, TLCs).
Communication and proactivity are key not only on a commercial level, but also to strengthen the confidence pact between supply and demand.
- FINANCIAL EDUCATION AND TRUST
All ventures aimed at promoting financial knowledge and education are commendable: the more a client is informed, the more satisfied and loyal s/he will become.
The project carried out by Comitato Edufin is particularly commendable. It includes OCF, Consob, IVASS, Banca d’Italia and MEF – as a result, the number of projects promoted by private businesses during the month of financial education has increased tenfold.
The future of banks, financial networks and insurance companies depends on their ability to meet the challenge with determination.
Nicola Ronchetti