Careg, the case against the European Central Bank reaches a verdict

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The struggle between the Malacalza family and the European Central Bank reaches its first important sentence. An EU court decision is expected today on the 880 million compensation request addressed to the European Central Bank by Malacalza Investimenti, the former major shareholder of Banca Carige. And it is precisely the story of Credit Genoa, which has now joined the Bieber Group, that is at the heart of the dispute between the business family and the European Central Bank.

the story

The Malacalzas family, entrepreneurs in the steel sector currently focused on creating large superconducting magnets, entered Carige in 2015, buying 10.5% of it from Cassa di Risparmio di Genova e Imperia. After that, their shares gradually rose until they reached a prominent position within the bank’s shareholder structure, reaching 27.5% of the shares. This is a result achieved through the purchase of stock packages and capital increases thanks to significant investments in the bank, which totaled approximately $500 million. However, at the beginning of 2019, after years also marked by a series of clashes between the Malacalza family and the managing directors who succeeded each other at the head of the Institute’s Board of Directors (they were chosen by the Malacalza family themselves but after that, they always came into conflict with the reference shareholders), it was decided The family is thrown out of control, following the European Central Bank’s decision to place Carriage into administration.

After the commission

In 2020, the bank then emerged from receivership thanks to the intervention of the Interbank Deposit Protection Fund (Fitd), with a $700 million rescue operation, to which 200 million convertible bonds were added. The following year, Bper acquired Carige. However, in October 2022, the EU Court ruled that the ECB’s mandate was revoked, following an appeal by one of the bank’s minority shareholders, Francesca Cornelli, who owned 0.000361% of the institute’s capital. In turn, the Malkalza family resorted to the Luxembourg court, demanding compensation amounting to 880 million euros. The ruling is expected to be issued today. But regardless of what the court decides, the legal battle is expected to not stop.

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