European banks more solid than a few years ago

Webuild: minimum impact from rise in rates

MILAN, March 23, 2023 - “The statements made by central bankers during these days have been less severe, even if the Bundesbank Governor rightly said that monetary policy must keep stubbornly fighting inflation. I have the impression that the central banks are succeeding, because the European yield curve is practically flat, while in the U.S. it is negative. This seems to say that the rise in rates has almost come to an end”.

This is the statement given by Webuild General Manager Corporate and Finance Massimo Ferrari during an interview on "Focus Economia" of Radio 24, an Italian radio station. With regard to the tensions in the credit markets in recent months, he highlighted how these were linked to the fact that "monetary authorities do not just intervene through manoeuvres that determine the quantity of money they make available in the system, but also through their supervision of banks, which has been particularly restrictive”.

"European institutions are more solid compared to a few years ago. This is due to a decrease in non-performing loans and the liquidity that remains abundantly available. But still, the financial crises in Europe and in the United States are a cause of some concern,” he said.

As for Webuild, Ferrari assured that, as of today, the rise in rates "has not impacted our financial situation much because 86% of our debt is at fixed interest rates. As for liquidity, we do not have any problems whatsoever”.

Ferrari also spoke of the management of the water crisis in Italy, saying that "Webuild has a solid expertise in the water sector. Through its subsidiary Fisia Italimpianti, it has built many desalination plants worldwide, especially in the Middle East. The Webuild Group makes itself available to the Italian government to deal with this issue, with the same collaborative spirit that it brought to the Genoa San Giorgio Bridge".