For those who were wondering where Alessandro Profumo, CEO of UniCredit from 1997 until boardroom wranglings forced his resignation in 2010, would direct his energy and talents, the answer came in early 2012. Since the shareholder's meeting of Monte dei Paschi di Siena, Italy's third largest bank, at the end of April, Mr Profumo has been its chairman. He stepped into what might be fairly described as the most challenging job in Italian banking: the Sienese institution, which was founded in 1472 and is the world's oldest bank, had recently posted €4.7bn losses for 2011. Moreover, with tight links to the city and local politics through its main shareholder, the Monte dei Paschi di Siena Foundation, which does charitable works in the region, its governance is complex and convoluted.
The challenge of bashing the accounts into shape at Monte dei Paschi di Siena and getting dividends flowing again is made tougher by the difficult wider context in which this must be done. Banking has changed hugely since Mr Profumo made his name turning Credito Italiano, a sleepy institution, into a dynamic major European player. And bankers must prepare for much more change, he thinks.
