Poste italiane

Poste Italiane S.p.A. (Italian Post) is the Italian postal service provider. Besides providing postal services, Gruppo Poste Italiane offers integrated communication, postal savings products, logistics, financial and insurance services throughout Italy.

Poste Italiane S.p.A.
listed Società per Azioni
Traded asBIT: PST
FTSE MIB Component
ISINIT0003796171 
Industry
Founded1862 
FounderGovernment of Italy 
Headquarters190 viale Europa,
Rome
,
Italy
Key people
Matteo Del Fante (CEO)
Services
  • Postal Services
  • Financial Services
  • Insurance Services
Revenue€ 10,86 billion [1] (2018)
€ 1,40 billion [1] (2018)
Owner
Number of employees
134,360 [2] (2018)
DivisionsBancoPosta[3]
Subsidiaries
Capital ratio14.65% (CET1, BancoPosta division only)[3]
WebsiteOfficial website
Footnotes / references
in consolidated balance sheet excluding minority interests

History

1862–1990

Law no. 604 of 5 May 1862, (the so-called Postal reform),[4] created a national and centralised organisation for postal service by introducing a unique general fee to pay for services, postal stamps, throughout the entire territory of the newly formed kingdom of Italy. Subsequently, with Royal Decree 5973 of 10 March 1889, the Directorate General of Posts and Telegraphs was separated from the Ministry of Public Works and thus turned into the Ministry of Posts and Telegraphs. It was commissioned to create a network of offices in Italy to forward and receive mail and telegrams, make and receive telephone calls, carry out financial transactions and manage assets. It also worked as branch offices for the nascent electric services for a time.

The giro service, (commonly known as BancoPosta since 2000), was founded in 1917. In 1924, during the Fascist period, the Ministry of Posts and Telegraphs was renamed Ministry of Communications becoming an important centre of power. The services network was expanded with the acquisition and implementation of new logistics facilities. New buildings in Functionalist style were built in the major cities.

With the development of telephony and radio communications, the Ministry incorporated the State Company for Telephone Services (ASST) and the nascent EIAR (which would later become RAI and run both public radio and television).

1990–2000

In the early 1990s, the Italian public administration and postal service were deemed irrecoverable in terms of efficiency and profitability. The budget deficit increased personnel costs, which in 1986 absorbed about 93% (including 16% for pensions) of the current revenue. From 1970 to 1985 employees’ productivity was reduced by 24% at the expense of the quality of services provided, generating an ever more critical deficit situation.

In 1994, in (Germany), the regular average of delivered daily mail after dispatch was almost 80%, while in Italy the comparable statistic was less than 20%. In 1989, the average time for mail delivery was 8.5 days.

An attempt was made to contain the obvious gap in the quality of Italian postal service compared to the rest of Europe, with Decree-Law no. 487 of 1 December 1993, converted by law no. 71 of 29 January 1994. This led to the transformation of the Italian Post Office from an independent company into a public business, with the additional step to  SpA  being taken in 1996 (implemented after 28 February 1998.[5] The transformation process required the management of the Italian Post Office to adopt the production efficiency principle, recover the quality of services and bring about economic and financial recovery.

This led to the gradual reduction of the 4,500 billion lira deficit, in 1993, through specific policies to reduce production costs (80% due to staff costs[6]), by increasing revenues from the sale of services to the PA and by reordering the tariff system, thus achieving a net profit by 2001.[7]

In February 1998, the Ministry of the Treasury (The Prodi I Cabinet) appointed Corrado Passera, as the CEO of the newly formed Italian Poste SpA.[8][9] The business plan implemented by Corrado Passera from 1998 to 2002 cut staff by 22,000 units.[10]

On the other hand, according to some trade union leaders, there was a casualization of contracts for new recruits, cases of widespread harassment and resignation because of workload due to the excess staff cuts.

The Solidarity Fund was used for saving on labour costs as well as lowering the average age of the staff. The last two years of missing contributions from employees taking early retirement were paid for by a deduction in payroll for the new employees for 10 years. The company offsets these losses replacing them by recruiting many young workers under the age of under 24 and giving them three-year apprenticeship contracts.

2000–2010

In 2000, the Italian Post Office, through its subsidiary SDA Express Courier[11], acquired 20% of the share capital of the Bartolini company[12] and officially formed the Consortium Logistics and Parcels with the three major companies for the sorting of parcels in the country. This agreement was also the subject of a challenge by the rival companies in court, but it ended in favour of the Consortium.

Poste Italiane has also adopted a control system for monitoring in real time all the post offices, the logistics network and the security of digital communications and transactions working with the Italian government, international agencies, universities and research centres.

The importance of financial products and services, such as the Postepay prepaid card, has been increasing in the last few years. Postepay, first introduced in 2003, achieved great success, especially among young people, gaining and maintaining first position at European level in pre-paid cards sector.

2010–present

In 2011, Poste Italiane acquired UniCredit MedioCredito Centrale for €136 million.[13][14]

On 16 May 2014, the Italian government approved the stakes sale of up to 40 percent in Poste Italiane.[15]

The company was forced to close 455 offices in 2015 due to low profit[16][17] according to the Poste Italiane Spa CEO Francesco Caio’s decision. Today, as underlined by CEO Matteo Del Fante in November 2018, the company’s intention is to preserve post offices and take specific measures for smaller Italian cities[4].

The Ministry of Economy and Finance (Italy), which now owns 64.696% of Poste Italiane Spa, sold about 35% of shares on Borsa Italiana. On 25 May 2016, a further 35% stake was transferred from the ministry to Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP), making it the minority shareholder of the national investment bank. This has given it equity in stakes for Poste Italiane, but has also diluted its voting rights in CDP.[18][19][20]

Financial services

One of the main business of the company is BancoPosta, a division within Poste Italiane SpA, which acts as a distribution platform providing postal savings services. [21]

The bank division, known as BancoPosta ring-fenced capital reserve, (BancoPosta FRC) in the balance sheet, had total assets of €56,969,835,924 as at 31 December 2014. If BancoPosta was a separate company, it would see the bank ranked as the 10th largest bank by total assets. Cariparma, which ranked as the 10th in the survey by Ricerche e Studi (a subsidiary of Mediobanca), had total assets of €50,296,831,000 as at 31 December 2014, despite the fact that  the list also omitted some banks before Cariparma.[22]

BancoPosta is mainly engaged in the management of the banking book, promotion and management of the postal savings instruments issued by Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (bonds and savings books), transaction banking services (payments and collections), promotion and distribution, through its own distribution platform, of financial products issued by third parties or other group companies. [23]

As concerns asset management, BancoPosta Fondi SGR manages open-ended mutual investment funds, Eurozone sovereign bonds and corporate bonds. [24] [25]

Postal services

Mail delivery, logistics, parcels and express delivery, have always been a key part of Poste Italiane's identity and also includes Italy's Universal Postal Service. In 2018, Poste Italiane handled approximately 3 billion items of mail and 127 million parcels, In the Deliver 2022 Plan in 2018, the company launched the new Joint Delivery model, which has redesigned the service by introducing afternoon and weekend deliveries and focused on modernising the fleet, by making it more environmentally-friendly with the introduction of 345 fully electric, three-wheeled scooters, with greater load capacity to facilitate parcel delivery in cities and improve occupational safety. The evolution of e-commerce logistics has led to the creation of PuntoPoste, the new accessible network that complements the network of over 12,800 post offices, enabling the collection and return of online purchases and the sending of pre-franked or prepaid parcels. In 2018, 417 PuntoPoste points were already operating, and the network will be expanded to include 3,500 units in 2019.[26] [27] [28][29][30][31][32][33][34]

Payments, mobile and digital services

Following the new opportunities created by the European Payment Services Directive (PSD2)[5], in force as of January 2018, Poste Italiane decided to bring together payment, mobile and digital services under a single unit. The new division takes over the mobile phone operations of PosteMobile[6][35] and continues to be a provider of digital services for the Public Sector as an Identity Provider through the PosteID digital identity service, accredited by the Public Digital Identity System (SPID)[36]. The Company is also a partner of PagoPA, the electronic payments system of the Public Sector.

Insurance

Poste Italiane operates in the insurance business through PosteVita and Poste Assicura, offering life and casualty insurance products. Poste Vita additionally offers investment and savings products through BancoPosta distribution platform. [37] [38] [39] [40] [41]

Ethical Code

In April 2018, Poste Italiane defined its new Ethical Code, with a view to updating and extending the principles and rules of conduct to be followed in its relations with all of its stakeholders, with particular regard to its suppliers, partners, market, and shareholders.[42]

Sustainability

In 2018 Poste Italiane defined a new sustainability strategy by adopting an ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) strategic plan consisting of objectives that concern integrity and transparency, staff development, support for the region and the country, customer experience, decarbonisation of buildings and logistics and sustainable finance. [43] [44] [45]

Poste Italiane has adhered to the Principles for Responsible Investments (PRI) and the Principles for Sustainable Insurance (PSI) promoted by the United Nations for the dissemination of a sustainable culture in investment and insurance policies. [46] [47]

The company also obtained the ISO 37001: 2016 certification for anti-corruption.[48] [49]

Small Municipalities

Since 2018, Poste Italiane has introduced a programme, in collaboration with the Mayors of Italy, to support small Italian municipalities by strengthening its presence in throughout the country, urban redevelopment and security measures in the areas adjacent to Post Offices. The initiative is part of the broader Environmental, Social and Governance strategic plan which aims to support the development of the country. [50] [51] [52]

See also

References
  1. "Relazione finanziaria annuale 2018" (PDF).
  2. "Numero dipendenti 2018".
  3. "2014 Annual Report" (PDF). Poste italiane. 21 September 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 March 2016. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
  4. "Dalle Regie Poste al Postepay". La Stampa (in Italian). 22 November 2012.
  5. "Rivoluzione alle Poste parte la nuova spa". la Repubblica (in Italian). 1 March 1998.
  6. "POSTE SPA 'NIENTE PAURA PER GLI ESUBERI'". la Repubblica (in Italian). 10 April 1993.
  7. "Poste, il bilancio torna vicino al pareggio Passera: Non ho intenzione di lasciare". la Repubblica (in Italian). 11 October 2001.
  8. "Poste, ribaltone ai vertici". la Repubblica (in Italian). 27 February 1998.
  9. "Rivoluzione alle Poste parte la nuova spa". La Repubblica (in italian). 1 March 1998.
  10. "Grazie a Passera Poste italiane ormai risanate". la Repubblica (in Italian). 2 March 2002.
  11. "Le Poste comprano il corriere SDA". La Repubblica (in italian). 12 June 1998.
  12. "POSTE: SDA STRINGE ACCORDO CON BARTOLINI E RILEVA QUOTA DEL 20%". adnkronos.com (in italian). 15 September 1999.
  13. "comunicato" [Press Release] (in Italian). Poste italiane. 1 August 2011. Retrieved 12 March 2016.
  14. "UniCredit cede Mcc alle Poste". Il Sole 24 Ore (in italian). 21 December 2010.
  15. "UPDATE 1-Italy approves sale plans for post office, air traffic..." 16 May 2014 – via www.reuters.com.
  16. "Poste Italiane: chiudono oltre 455 sportelli, lo annuncia l'AD Francesco Caio". Money.it. 17 March 2015.
  17. "Poste italiane chiude 455 sportelli. Matteoli: «Decisione inevitabile»". Il Secolo d'Italia (in italian). 11 March 2015.
  18. "Company Profile" (PDF). Poste Italiane. 2019.
  19. "Poste, il Mef divide le sue quote: il 35% va alla Cdp e il 30% finirà sul mercato". La Repubblica (in italian). 25 May 2016.
  20. "Tesoro conferisce il 35% di Poste a Cdp, il 29,7% sul mercato". Il Sole 24 Ore (in italian). 25 May 2016.
  21. "Poste Italiane Bancoposta". bankingitaly.com. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
  22. "LE PRINCIPALI BANCHE ITALIANE" (PDF) (in Italian). Ricerche e Studi. 10 November 2015. Retrieved 21 February 2016.
  23. Alessandra Di Bartolomeo (29 April 2019). "Conto Bancoposta di Poste Italiane "un mondo su cui contare, sempre" - InvestireOggi.it". Risparmio - Investireoggi.it (in Italian). Retrieved 10 June 2020.
  24. "Poste al debutto Sri col bilanciato obbligazionario "Investo Sostenibile"". ETicaNews (in Italian). Retrieved 10 June 2020.
  25. "Salone del Risparmio '19: la prima volta di Poste per un risparmio sostenibile". Affaritaliani.it (in Italian). Retrieved 10 June 2020.
  26. "Company Profile" (PDF). Poste Italiane. 19 June 2019.
  27. "Poste Italiane spedizioni: tutte le novità" (in Italian). Money.it. 3 July 2019.
  28. "Poste Italiane aims to ride e-commerce wave to boost parcel delivery". Reuters.com. 20 March 2019.
  29. "Il digitale spinge i conti di Poste: vola l'e-commerce". corrierecomunicazioni.it (in italian). 6 November 2019.
  30. "Attività e prospettive del Gruppo Poste Italiane Audizione dell'Amministratore Delegato e Direttore Generale di Poste Italiane S.p.A. Dott. Matteo Del Fante" (PDF). camera.it (in italian). 18 September 2018.
  31. "Poste Italiane delivering every day and every night". parcelandpostaltechnologyinternational.com. 11 June 2018.
  32. "Poste Italiane aims to ride e-commerce wave to boost parcel delivery". Reuters.com. 20 March 2019.
  33. "Mail, Parcel and Distribution. Delivery services are an integral part of the history of Poste Italiane". Poste Italiane.
  34. "Relazione Finanziaria Annuale 2019" (PDF). emarketstorage.com (in italian, PDF). December 2019.
  35. "Poste Italiane punta alla leadership nell'e-payment, nasce PostePay Spa". CorCom. 1 October 2018. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
  36. "Spid Poste italiane come fare ad averlo. Cosa serve PosteID | BusinessOnLine.it". www.businessonline.it. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
  37. Alessandra Di Bartolomeo (18 May 2019). "Poste Vita di Poste Italiane: i principali prodotti e tutte le informazioni in merito - InvestireOggi.it". Risparmio - Investireoggi.it (in Italian). Retrieved 10 June 2020.
  38. "Poste: aumenta la tutela sanitaria di Poste Assicura". Il Sole 24 ORE (in Italian). Retrieved 10 June 2020.
  39. "Poste Vita, nel 2018 vola l'utile netto che supera il miliardo di euro". InsuranceTrade.it (in italian). 19 March 2019.
  40. "CONSOLIDATED INTERIM REPORT 2019" (PDF). Poste Italiane. 21 May 2019.
  41. "Poste Vita – United Nations Environment – Finance Initiative". Retrieved 10 June 2020.
  42. "Code of Ethics Poste Italiane Group" (PDF). Poste Italiane. 2018.
  43. "The Group's Environmental Social and Governance (ESG) Strategic Plan". Poste Italiane. 2018.
  44. "Poste Italiane inclusa nell'annuario di sostenibilità di S&P Global". www.ilmessaggero.it (in Italian). Retrieved 10 June 2020.
  45. "Dalla finanza etica alla decarbonizzazione, l'impegno di Poste Italiane". adnkronos.com (in italian). 23 December 2019.
  46. Millucci, Barbara (23 December 2019). "Poste, sportelli aperti alla sostenibilità". Corriere della Sera (in Italian). Retrieved 10 June 2020.
  47. "Poste Vita e Bancoposta Fondi, ok ai principi d'investimento Onu". la Repubblica (in Italian). 5 February 2019. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
  48. PMI.it, Redazione (25 January 2019). "Poste Italiane ottiene la certificazione anticorruzione". PMI.it (in Italian). Retrieved 10 June 2020.
  49. "Certificazione anticorruzione per Poste, è la prima azienda del settore - Economia". Agenzia ANSA (in Italian). 15 January 2019. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
  50. "Piano di Poste Italiane per i piccoli comuni". Il Sole 24 ORE (in Italian). Retrieved 10 June 2020.
  51. "Poste, continua impegno per piccoli Comuni". Adnkronos. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
  52. "Annual Report 2018" (PDF). Poste Italiane. 2018.
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