"Financial education activities have resulted in the loyalty of Italians to postal savings: today the stock amounts to 324 billion euros, with 31 million savings books for 94 billion and 39 million bonds with a value of 230 billion. There are 27 million savers with an average of 12 thousand euros per capita, which shows how widespread savings are among Italians. Savings have been democratized." This is a passage from the speech by the CEO of Poste Italiane, Matteo Del Fante, during the event for the 150th anniversary of postal savings, organized together with Cassa Depositi e Prestiti at the La Nuvola Congress Center in Rome.
Savings maps
"Territorial distribution maps show that postal savings are present throughout the country," explained the Poste CEO. "Campania is in the lead, followed by Lombardy and Lazio. The age distribution covers all age groups: in Italy, less than 9 percent of savings belong to Gen-Z and millennials. A hundred years ago, the first Postal Savings Bond was also launched, a product whose financial structure represents the best response to the needs of a saver for several reasons: it gives certainty of repayment, guarantees increasing interest from year to year to encourage leaving the sums in the long term, has the right to early repayment at any time, accruing interest up to that day. Finally, and most importantly in the first 50 years, the postal network was the natural secondary market for the Savings Bond."
A bond between generations
Del Fante then pointed out how savings have been "a bond between generations": just think that "many thirty-year bonds are collected today by grandchildren and that 2.4 million minors have products dedicated to them. The digital form is also very widespread, thanks to the ease of subscription from the app and website. All this – he concluded – reaffirms the centrality of savings as an ideal tool for the future of families, confirming the role of Poste alongside communities, savers and alongside the central and territorial institutions of our beloved country".
Collective piggy bank
On stage, the president of the Poste Italiane Group, Silvia Maria Rovere, defined postal savings as a "symbol of progress and protection": "Financial education, already a century ago, began in elementary schools and millions of people entrusted dreams and projects to this first "collective piggy bank": through postal savings books there was a desire to build something that would last over time," she recalled. "The history of postal savings is the history of the country: Poste Italiane has always played a leading role, also through the collection of postal savings with the aim of modernizing Italy, and making Italians feel more united and supportive. In fact, since its inception, Poste has made the protection of savings its own, even before it entered the Constitution".
The partnership with CDP
The event was attended by the top management of Cassa Depositi e Prestiti: "Today we celebrate a historic partnership between Cassa Depositi e Prestiti and Poste Italiane, between the institutions and Italian citizens who over the years have entrusted their savings to CDP to be safeguarded, but also to be transformed into tangible growth for people, communities, and territories. These resources - highlighted the President of CDP, Giovanni Gorno Tempini - have contributed to building, developing and modernizing the large infrastructure networks, creating the basis for the country's progress. It is a story that shows that no clamor is needed to leave a deep mark. That the value of the public is built every day, in the concreteness of the choices and in respect of the trust received." CDP's CEO, Dario Scannapieco, pointed out: "For almost two centuries, postal savings have been a fundamental lever for the country's development, thanks to the trust of 27 million citizens who choose postal bonds and savings books. Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, he stressed, uses these resources responsibly, supporting investments with a high economic, social and environmental impact with an approach that has as its primary objective the benefits generated for the community. This is the deeper meaning of the mission of all the women and men who work at CDP: to transform savings into the future, with the awareness that by working with commitment we can make the Italian economy and society stronger."
