LE IMPRESE ITALIANE DI FRONTE ALLA SFIDA DEL RATING BANCARIO

The coming into force, on January 1, 2007, of the International Accord on the capital requirements of banks, better known as Basel 2, opened a new phase for the credit market, which was bound to affect right away and in a significant manner the behavior of all those involved by it. The “revolution” brought about by the Accord will also have significant effects on the enterprises that systematically turn to the banking system to finance their activities and that are now required to take immediate action by innovating to a significant extent their corporate processes and, above all, defining the terms of their relationship with banks in a substantially different manner. This paper purposes to stress how the structural change in the bank management of credit risks, advocated by Basel 2 with the introduction of the rating models, has a dual reverberation. On the one hand, it entails a redefinition of the relationship between the two parties from the point of view of both information and operations. On the other, by requiring significant changes in the management of Italian firms, it stimulates virtuous behaviors on the part of the latter, leading towards a qualitative growth of the relationship that represents a fundamental condition for the development of our entrepreneurial class. From this point of view, special attention is devoted to the critical situations currently experienced by firms that hinder their full and conscious agreement to the Basel 2 “philosophy” and principles and, as a result, to the measures that have to be implemented to fill the existing gap in their business culture and operations.