Where is Mediobanca going under its new chairman and will it manage to stay independent? David Lane reports from Rome.Milanese finance experienced a minor revolution earlier this year when UBS Warburg issued a research report on that secretive institution Mediobanca – Italy’s leading investment bank. Traded on Milan’s stock market for almost 50 years, Mediobanca’s shares had never before appeared suitable for coverage by major securities houses.
Covering the shares of a company where Machiavellian manoeuvring counted, rather than the market, seemed a barren pursuit. After all, Mediobanca was the nexus where everyone that mattered in Italian finance and industry did deals behind the scenes and where long-time boss, Enrico Cuccia, who died three years ago aged 90, pulled the strings. So what is happening at Mediobanca?