AS PART OF THE BCC REFORM, YOU DECIDED TO JOIN THE TRENTINO CONCLUSION. WHAT ARE THE REASONS THAT PUSHED YOU IN THIS DIRECTION, AND WHAT ARE THE INITIAL RESULTS OF THIS MERGER? 

As part of the reform of the mutual banks (CCs), Banca Monte Pruno joined the Trentino consortium, following a very long process marked by our bank's confidential and professional relationships with Cassa Centrale Banca. This membership is therefore the result of relationships that predate the reform of cooperative credit. The reform represents a fundamental milestone in the history of the mutual banks, as it forced the banks by law to join a banking group, which was therefore subject to a parent company. As I have repeatedly emphasized in previous interviews, this transformation occurred by law, not by the banks' free will.
The reform has overturned the mechanisms governing the activities of cooperative credit banks, primarily because it distorts the purely local banking activity, somewhat severing the ties between the local area and the bank itself, following a series of rules and regulations that merely limit the banks' operations within their respective territories. 
For example, the problem of compliance with Community legislation arises: banks like ours that operate in southern Italy will find themselves having to follow the same rules regarding access to credit and banking regulations as banks based in the Netherlands or Brussels.
However, we are only in our first year of operations, and the results of these changes are yet to be fully assessed, as most of the legislative and regulatory compliance activities for what is a group-wide activity have already begun. It's natural that there will be some difficulties, considering our group comprises 80 different banks. 
As far as we're concerned, we've embraced this new challenge with enthusiasm, and we've focused on ensuring that these new rules don't impact credit access and support for the local area and businesses.

HOW WILL THE RECENT ENTRY INTO FORCE OF THE FIFTH DIRECTIVE AFFECT THE ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING AND TERROR FINANCING ACTIVITIES OF BANKS, PARTICULARLY BCCs? 

Our bank has always placed great emphasis on the issue of money laundering and financing, through ongoing staff training and close collaboration with the entities responsible for carrying out controls.
The Fifth Directive will further strengthen these ties, as banks will be required to make even more targeted efforts within the framework of anti-money laundering regulations. We are and will continue to place great emphasis on alert tools for banking operations, and we will develop an even more structured organization to ensure the creation and continued existence of the appropriate safeguards. 

YOU ARE CONSIDERED BY MANY AS A VERY ACTIVE DIRECTOR ON SOCIAL MEDIA. HOW IMPORTANT IS A SOCIAL MEDIA PRESENCE FOR MANAGERS IN YOUR SECTOR?

Our bank has always been very active on social media, with a dedicated communications office. It's natural for a bank like ours that operates locally to have a significant presence in the publishing market, especially to report on and publicize the bank's internal activities and all the social initiatives it promotes. I've personally been following this activity for almost a decade, demonstrating that awareness of the topic was already very high many years ago, when these tools were less widely used. The presence of senior management is important because it ultimately gives the bank and all its activities a certain visibility.

ATTENTION TO STAFF TRAINING IS ANOTHER OF BANCA MONTE PRUNO'S PECULIARITIES. HOW MUCH OF A VALUE DOES TRAINING AND UPDATING EFFORT ON THE PROPER FUNCTIONING OF THE "BANKING COMPANY"?

From our perspective, training has never been a cost, but rather an investment. Attention to staff training has long been a hallmark of our bank, even when it was a small institution with just a few dozen employees. Training and continuing education are now two fundamental elements of the banking enterprise, both because regulations are constantly evolving, especially in recent years. Furthermore, within our bank, some of the trained staff become teachers themselves: this creates a continuous exchange of information that only enhances the bank's quality. For example, staff who participated in anti-money laundering training then transferred the knowledge they learned throughout the bank. This training and knowledge-sharing model allows us to transfer information, updates, and knowledge to all levels, even the most peripheral.