Operator : Good morning. This is the Chorus Call conference operator. Welcome, and thank you for joining the MPS Group second-quarter and first-half 2026 presentation. As a reminder, all participants are in listen-only mode. After the presentation, there will be an opportunity to ask questions. Should anyone need assistance during the conference call, they may signal an operator by pressing star and zero on their telephone. At this time, I would like to turn the conference over to Mr. Luigi Lovaglio, Chief Executive Officer. Please go ahead, sir.
Luigi Lovaglio : Thank you very much. Good morning, and thank you for joining us. The first half of 2026 confirms the quality of our transformational journey of growth. We are presenting today the evidence of the industrial scale that Monte Paschi has achieved together with Mediobanca. Let me be clear, this is only the beginning of what that combination can do. In the first six months of the year, we generated more than EUR 1.1 billion in net profit. We expanded lending, we increased customer financial assets, and we strengthened capital. We continue to deliver strong, sustainable, and increasingly diversified performance thanks to a stronger franchise, a more diversified business model, and a greater ability to create value over time. Monte Paschi today is a strategic asset of the Italian economy. It is an important economic infrastructure of this country. It has systemic value. That systemic value depends on the integrity of the bank itself. Let me put simple. If you split a power station in two, each part may still stand, but you risk losing power. You reduce the capacity to deliver energy where it is needed. Banking works the same way. Monte Paschi is not just a collection of branches. It is a network of relationships, knowledge, and trust. Branches are not walls, they are antennas. Every day, they collect signals from the real economy, and they turn local savings into credit, into investments, into economic growth. If the system loses power, businesses receive less energy. That is less credit, slower and more expensive decisions, less support for the real economy. The question is not only what Monte Paschi is worth today, it is what value our bank can generate for this country tomorrow. Now let's focus on the results achieved. What stands out in the second quarter is quality, growth in earnings, growth in commercial activity, growth in client assets, and further strengthening of the capital. Net profit exceeded EUR 600 million in the quarter and EUR 1.1 billion in the first half. Revenues increased, costs remain under control, capital strengthening to 16.3%. Customer asset at EUR 300 billion, and continued growth across all major business lines. The most important message is that performance is becoming broader and more diversified, driven by the strength of the franchise as a whole. Profitability continues to improve quarter after quarter, year after year. Second-quarter net profit exceeded EUR 600 million, more than 20% versus the first quarter. First half net profit exceeded EUR 1.1 billion. This level of profitability is creating value today, but is also creating strategic optionality for tomorrow. Moving to the next operating profit. Net operating profit exceeded EUR 1 billion in the quarter and EUR 2 billion in the first half. Growth reached 11.8% quarter-on-quarter and 8.2% year-on-year. This is one of the cleanest indicators of the quality of the business. It shows that growth is being generated by the core franchise. Stronger revenue, a better business mix, disciplined cost, and controlled risks. Let me show how this translates into operating leverage. Second quarter gross operating profit reached almost EUR 1.2 billion, up 8.7% quarter-on-quarter and 11.4% year-on-year. This reflects a strong combination of revenue acceleration and cost discipline. Revenues increased during the quarter, supported by excellent fee performance. At the same time, operating costs remain under control. As a result, the cost-to-income ratio improved further to 42%. This is a positive jaws, and positive jaws are one of the key indicators of execution quality. Let me now take you to the first-half view of the gross operating profit. The first half picture confirms the same trend. Revenues increased 4.1% year-on-year, operating costs declined 0.7%. Gross operating profit increased 8% to EUR 2.3 billion, and the cost-to-income ratio improved by 2 percentage points to 43%. The message is straightforward. We are delivering profitable growth. We are maintaining cost discipline. Our capability and execution is the key drivers of value creation. Let me now move to the two main revenue pillars, starting with the net interest income and then fees. Net interest income remains remarkably resilient, at approximately EUR 2.1 billion in the first half. It increased to EUR 1.06 billion in the second quarter. Growth in volume, effective management of commercial spreads. These factors confirm that the bank is able to protect margins while supporting lending growth. At the same time, we are enjoying an increasing contribution from fees and capital-light businesses, and it is visible in the next slide. If there is one area that best illustrates the evolution of our business model, it is fees. Income is becoming an increasingly powerful growth engine. Quarterly fees reached EUR 617 million, an increase of 8.4% quarter-on-quarter, and 9% year-on-year. Growth was driven by wealth management advisory activity and commercial banking fees. This is exactly the trajectory we outlined when presenting our strategic plan, and the execution continues to validate that strategy. Looking at the first half as a whole, fees increased to almost EUR 1.3 billion. Growth reached 3.6% year-on-year. The direction is clear. More diversification, more recurring revenues, more resilience. It is the result of client relationships and advisory expertise, and demonstrates the value of our group distribution platform, combining synergistically Mediobanca and Monte Paschi capabilities. Let's now look at what sits behind this, in terms of commercial momentum. Commercial performance remains exceptionally strong. Customer financial assets reached EUR 300 billion. Wealth management gross inflows exceeded EUR 6 billion. Mortgage production increased strongly. Consumer finance continued to expand. What these numbers really represent is trust. Trust from households, from business, from communities. Trust remains one of the most valuable assets a bank can have. Monte Paschi is not simply a collection of assets. It is a network of relationships, knowledge, and trust built over generations. Customer loans continue to expand, reaching EUR 151 billion, up 1.8% quarter-on-quarter, and up 5.6% year-on-year. Growth was broad-based. Retail banking, consumer finance, corporate investment banking. We continue gaining market share in businesses where relationships matter most. This is important because loan growth remains one of the clearest indicators of relevance within the real economy. Commercial direct savings reached EUR 107 billion, up year-on-year, and up sequentially. The important point is that customer balances remain stable, despite a highly competitive environment. The stability provides funding strength. Funding strength supports lending growth, and lending growth supports the economy, and consequently, earnings generation. This is how franchise value is created over time. Let's move to indirect funding. Indirect funding reached EUR 193 billion. Growth exceeds 9% year-on-year. Assets under management increased more than 10%. Assets under custody also continued to expand. This is one of the strongest indicators of our strategic evolution. The group is becoming increasingly diversified, increasingly wealth management oriented, and increasingly focused on recurring customer revenues. This trend improves earnings quality, improves resilience, and strengthens valuation fundamentals, because high-quality assets generate long-term value creation. Let me now turn to costs. Second-quarter operating costs were EUR 867 million, down by 2.2% compared with the same quarter last year. The dynamic quarter-on-quarter is 1.1% up, almost absorbing inflation, labor contract renewal impact, and higher variable remuneration accruals linked to performance. Let me look now at the first half cost evolution. In the whole first half, operating costs declined by 0.7% year-on-year to EUR 1.7 billion. This may appear straightforward. In reality, it is a significant achievement. We absorbed inflation, we absorbed labor contract renewals, we continue investing in strategic initiatives, and yet total operating costs still declined. The key takeaway is execution. Revenue growth is important, but sustainable shareholder value is created when revenue growth is accompanied by cost discipline. That combination is visible throughout our results. Turning to asset quality. As you can see, asset quality remains very solid. Cost of risk remains fully under control and fully aligned with our business plan trajectory. NPE ratio, both gross and net, remain at the best levels, and this reflects the quality of our underwriting and the quality of our risk management framework. Liquidity remains exceptionally strong. Counterbalancing capacity stands at almost EUR 50 billion. The LCR increased to 169%, and the NSFR remains at the level of 122%. During the quarter, we successfully completed additional, we'll say, funding transactions, including senior recovered bond issuances. The group continues to retain significant flexibility. Capital. Capital remains one of the strongest differentiators of the group. Our fully loaded CET1 ratio increased to 16.3%, an increase of 40 basis points during the quarter. Our capital buffer remains among the strongest in the sector, close to 680 basis points above the regulatory requirement. Capital strength gives us three advantages: flexibility to support growth, flexibility to reward shareholders, and flexibility to evaluate strategic opportunities. In the current strategic context, our capital position is one of the reasons why Monte Paschi can assess every strategic development from a position of strength. Purchase price allocation. This slide provides an update on the purchase price allocation process related to Mediobanca. The process was substantially completed during the second quarter. The final allocation identified intangible assets, including brand value, customer relationship, and core deposits. Following the completion of the process, goodwill stands at approximately EUR 2.3 billion. This milestone provides greater visibility and represents another important step in the integration journey. A journey that continues to progress according to plan. Let me briefly comment on Mediobanca's first half performance. Mediobanca delivered a strong set of results, confirming the quality and the resilience of the franchise. Revenues increased to almost EUR 2 billion, net profit exceeded EUR 710 million, and return on tangible equity reached approximately 15%, supported by record performances in Corporate Investment Banking and consumer finance. The second quarter was particularly strong, with revenues above EUR 1 billion and net profit of almost EUR 390 million. Growth was supported by multiple business engines, including Corporate Investment Banking, consumer finance, and insurance, while maintaining strong capital, excellent asset quality, and a cost-to-income ratio below 40%. The wealth management franchise continued to stabilize during the quarter. Assets under management increased, net outflows reduced significantly compared with the first quarter. I strongly believe that this is a strong signal of how important, and strong, and powerful is a combination between Mediobanca and Monte Paschi, and I strongly believe that the trend that Mediobanca is presenting will further improve, providing even higher contribution to the total profitability of the group. Let me now show why the combined business mix is strategically important. This slide makes the evaluation logic of the group more explicit. Today, our revenue base is supported by multiple high-quality business lines, with significant weight of asset gathering and wealth management businesses. This diversification is increasingly valuable and strengthens earnings sustainability. We are building a business model that is more balanced, more scalable, and better positioned for long-term value creation. This continued growth evolution supports a step up in earnings quality and, over time, a rerating of the group's valuation profile. This is precisely the direction outlined in our strategic plan. Let me spend a moment on integration. Execution remains exactly where it should be, on track and on time. Over the last few months, we have moved from planning to implementation across all major work streams. We have completed the key corporate steps, submitted the core regulatory filings, and continue to work closely with the competent authorities as we target regulatory approvals during the third quarter and effectiveness of the reorganization in the fourth quarter. At the same time, business transformation initiatives are already being implemented. Client coverage models have been defined. Commercial cooperation between networks and product factories is progressing, and the future operating model is taking shape. The integration of platform data and security infrastructure is progressing according to plan and remains fully aligned with our day one objectives. Equally important, we have secured all the legal, regulatory, and compliance foundations required for a successful integration. The integration is really becoming an operational reality. It brings us closer to unlocking the full value of the combination. Let me conclude this section with what ultimately matters most: value creation. Synergy is progressing ahead of schedule, giving comfort to deliver results even above the target of 2026. On the revenue side, we are already seeing tangible results, mainly from increasing collaboration between Corporate and Investment Banking by executing together with Monte Paschi, jointly leading lending and advisory transactions. Distribution of Mediobanca certificates and asset management products, launch of lending products, factories distribution. On the cost side, the group is capturing benefits from optimizing procurement and shared supplier agreements, launching joint tenders and removing duplication, like in the provision of facility contracts. On the funding side, we continue to benefit from issuance executed at tighter spreads, leveraging the scale and the strength of the combined group. Let me now address the offer announced by Intesa Sanpaolo. As already communicated by the board, the preliminary observations published on July 16th remain fully valid. The board's preliminary view is that Intesa Sanpaolo does not currently appear to fully compensate Monte Paschi shareholders for control, synergies, and franchise value, while exposing them to execution and regulatory risks. Conversely, Monte Paschi plus Mediobanca strategy has a strong industrial rationale and a clear execution profile, which, among other things, envisages significant value creation and cumulative shareholder distribution of EUR 16 billion over the plan period. I have consistently supported banking consolidation. Scale matters, investment capacity matters, technology matters. Scale should strengthen players, not reduce diversity. Consolidation should ultimately be evaluated through industrial logic and value creation, not fragmentation. Competition remains a fundamental source of innovation, customer service, and resilience. Competition survives because there is a plurality of players. A national champion should strengthen the country's competitive fabric, not reduce it. Otherwise, the crown may become larger, but the kingdom becomes smaller. That's why the board, with the support of its advisor, will continue to conduct its assessment independently and rigorously. The objective is clear. To identify the optimal path that maximizes value for Monte Paschi stakeholders, while preserving the integrity of the franchise. Let me conclude with three final observations. The first half confirms the strength of our operating performance. Net profit exceeded EUR 1.1 billion. Profit before tax approached EUR 2 billion, double-digit growth dynamic year-on-year. Commercial momentum remained strong. Capital continued to grow, and asset quality remained excellent. The integration with Mediobanca continues to validate its industrial rationale. Execution is progressing according to the plan. Synergies are materialized, making us comfortable to exceed our original target. Our confidence in the future continues to increase, and the visibility provided by current performance allows us to raise our guidance for 2026 profit before tax to EUR 3.6 billion. Finally, I would like to say that, like in the "Odyssey" poem, which has now become a must-see movie, some routes close and others open. From our safe harbor, we will continue our own journey. Fully committed to exploring every strategic option that can create long-term value for our stakeholders. Thank you. I'm now happy to take your questions.
Operator : Thank you, sir. Excuse me, this is the conference call operator. We will now begin the question-and-answer session. Anyone who wishes to ask a question may press star and one on their touchtone telephone. To remove your question, press star and two. The first question comes from Sofie Peterzens of Goldman Sachs.
Sofie Peterzens : Thanks a lot for taking my question. My first question would be on the strategic options that you're evaluating. Could you maybe elaborate a little bit more here, also what the timetable is, how long it would take to get the AGM approval, or to call, sorry, an AGM? If you could kind of discuss the strategic options, would you also consider selling the Generali stake, and what are you thinking about? My second question would be on dividends. How should we think about a potential interim dividend paid in, or announced with the third quarter? Do you still consider interim dividends, or is this kind of off the table? Thank you.
Luigi Lovaglio : I just take the question regarding the strategic option. I believe the real question is which strategic path best unlocks the value. I believe the best outcome is the one that delivers full value and carries forward what we have built rather than fragmenting it. As you know, building the best strategic option is much like assembling a mosaic. For a long time, the pieces kept moving, then one by one, the picture comes into focus. We are fully committed to exploring any opportunity with a clear direction to optimize the value for our shareholders.
Andrea Maffezzoni : Good morning. On the timetable, it takes 30 days to call an AGM, we will be on time anyway. As regards the question on interim dividend, the assessment will be done in the context of the analysis of the strategic options, that, as the CEO said, we will carry out following a rigorous approach aimed at maximizing long-term value for our stakeholders.
Sofie Peterzens : Thank you. AGM, just on the calling of the AGM, you haven't done it yet, right?
Andrea Maffezzoni : We haven't called an AGM yet. As said, there will be an AGM that will be called for the integration, so for the merger with Mediobanca, that is expected based on the current timetable to be convened in the first half of September. The notice will be issued in the first half of September.
Sofie Peterzens : Okay. Thank you.
Operator : The next question is from Luís Pratas of Autonomous.
Luís Pratas : Hi, good morning, everyone. Thank you for taking my questions. My first one is on the Generali stake. There has been plenty of speculation about a sale of this stake. I wanted to ask you: how strategic is the Generali stake for you? How much capital do you think you could release if there was a sale? Instead of a sale, could you consider distributing the stake in kind to your own shareholders? My second question is again on defensive actions, in this case related with Banco BPM. Last Friday, we had the Banco BPM Board of Directors terminating the merger of discussions with Monte Paschi. I wanted to ask you whether you could provide extra color on what went wrong for no agreement to be reached, and whether investors should now close this chapter with Banco BPM, or could you become a bit more aggressive and still pursue Banco BPM in a takeover offer as speculated in the press? Thank you.
Luigi Lovaglio : Okay, thank you for raising this topic about Generali. I describe the stake in Generali as a nice-to-have, because it represents an important source of value and strategic optionality for Monte Paschi and the Mediobanca group. I have to say that it also seems to be regarded as a particularly relevant nice-to-have by a number of other market participants. Any future decision will be assessed in the interest of Monte Paschi shareholders, taking into account the value of the stake, the capital, and the regulatory implications, market conditions, and the group's industrial strategy. As far as BAMI, I would separate the two points. The decision to discontinue the consultation was taken and communicated by the Banco BPM Board of Directors. It is not for Monte Paschi to comment on the counterparty's internal decision-making process. What I can say that we didn't approach this opportunity as detractors. We analyzed with conviction because we saw the potential to create a leading Italian banking and financial group, capable to delivering significant value for the shareholders of both banks. As Banco BPM itself acknowledged, the industrial rationale was significant. However, the discussion didn't progress to a stage where structural evaluation terms could be fully discussed and assessed. Banco BPM chose to discontinue the consultation before that point. We respect the decision, and we move forward accordingly. On the second question, I don't honestly think investors should think in terms of the chapter being closed or open. Today, there is no transaction under discussion with Banco. If strategic opportunities arise, because our focus is not on pursuing a transaction, our focus is on creating value for Monte Paschi shareholders. As I said, if strategic opportunities arise, we will assess them with the same discipline we always have. Industrial rationale, value creation, capital efficiency, execution certainty, and regulatory feasibility. Perhaps this is practically where a maritime analogy is useful. As I mentioned before, like the Odyssey poem, some routes close and others open. I have to say that every experienced navigator knows that winds can change. Sometimes they carry you towards a new destination, sometimes they bring you back to ports from which you had previously sailed away. Our responsibility is not to predict the wind, because it's quite difficult, but to be ready to capture it whenever it serves the interest of our shareholders.
Andrea Maffezzoni : On the capital treatment of Generali currently in our regulatory capital, around EUR 4 billion is goodwill, which is currently deducted pro rata, then, following the merger with Mediobanca will be fully deducted. Around EUR 2.5 billion is deducted, so on top, and the rest to get to our carrying value, which is currently EUR 6.9 billion, is risk-weighted assets at 250%.
Operator : The next question is from Lorenzo Giacometti of Intermonte.
Lorenzo Giacometti : Yes, good morning. Thank you for taking my questions. I have three. The first one is on fees. Basically, the fees rose 8.4% quarter-on-quarter with the release that was flagging a few larger CIB transactions. I was wondering how much of this quarter's fee level is one-off deal-driven versus a sustainable run rate, and what's the underlying recurring fee trajectory for the remaining part of the year? The second one is on trading, which was pretty strong for the first half. I was wondering if you can give us some color about, again, the trajectory of the second half of 2026. The third one is, again, on the strategic options. Can you be a little bit more specific on what these options actually are on the perimeter you're looking at, and on the potential timeframe of the potential decisions? If a credible combination were to present itself, what are the two or three non-negotiable conditions the board would require before engaging? Thank you.
Luigi Lovaglio : I will take the two questions regarding fees and then the other two strategic questions on option and what is not negotiable, as you said. Let's start from the fees. I think, as I mentioned during my presentation, this is a key pillar of our strategic plan. We strongly believe that we have a huge potential in terms of network, franchise of both institutions. In this quarter, there was a particularly high performance from Mediobanca, from some transactions performed by corporate investment banking. I really believe that, despite this was an important transaction, we can consider as exceptional one, my view on the potential of Mediobanca is that there we can really aim at getting significant higher contribution going forward. What we can consider as an exceptional one, according to me, can be considered like recurrent in a very short period of time. The combination of Mediobanca with Monte Paschi is a very successful, strong industrial, powerful combination. Having said that, in terms of guidelines, as was already mentioned in the previous presentation, we believe the fees and commissions will keep having a positive trend as usual in the third quarter. We are going to have our whole period, but I believe that also quarter-on-quarter, year-on-year, we will show a positive dynamic, and we are fully focused on getting this trend in a growing mood, considering that the synergies that we plan to realize with Mediobanca are really reaching a level that makes us think that can be even above the target we set in our business plan. Positive trend, thanks to the strength of the two franchises. I think on strategic options, I already mentioned, it's quite difficult to now go deeper into what was the key message we passed during the presentation. As we were discussing during the board in July and also recently, and I think is quite well described. What is considered by the board important in our press release, I want just additionally to mention that we are looking for strategic options that will generate significant value for our shareholders, for all stakeholders, aiming at preserving the integrity of our institution. I think this is one of the most important aspects in the direction that the board expressed with the communication on the 16th of July. Not because we believe, and there is a sense of tradition on that, just because I strongly and personally believe that breaking up a network, we are not increasing value, not only for stakeholders, but also for the economy of the country. That's why we are fully committed in looking for solutions that will generate additional value for all stakeholders. The integrity of the network for us is an important driver of this target.
Andrea Maffezzoni : On trading, it's slightly more difficult to forecast compared to NII and fees. First and second quarters were particularly good. Having said that, we still expect relevant contribution, also for the next quarters, thanks to our activity, which is mainly client-driven, and also to the expertise of our markets people, both at Mediobanca and Monte Paschi, in structuring solutions for our clients.
Lorenzo Giacometti : Okay. Thank you. On synergies, as you said, synergies may prove even higher than your EUR 700 million target. Do you have any color about how much higher they may prove or not? Thanks.
Luigi Lovaglio : This is a moving target, I have to say, because every day we are enjoying a strong cooperation between the teams. I can say, just based on what we are observing in terms of trend, at least we can have growth compared to the regional target of other EUR 100 million. That, as I said, is something that we are going to explore, and I believe can be a target that will make us think more and more about how powerful our combination is.
Lorenzo Giacometti : Okay. Thank you very much.
Operator : As a reminder, if you wish to register for a question, please press R and one on your touch-tone telephone. The next question is a follow-up from Luís Pratas of Autonomous.
Luís Pratas : Hey there. Hi there again. I have another question in case you decide to make an extraordinary distribution. I wanted to ask you, what's the timeline there? And, for instance, can it be approved quite swiftly by the ECB? And if I'm not mistaken, your management target in the business plan is 13%, but you never actually issue like any AT1s, for instance. What level can you go down to if you wanted to make an excess capital distribution tomorrow? Thank you.
Andrea Maffezzoni : I start from the last question. Our common equity tier one ratio appetite is 13%. I think in general terms, we always said that this is a reasonable level, a comfortable level to run the business. Then on your question, AT1, we might fill in the bucket quite easily. I think we have a queue of investors that would love to subscribe our potential AT1s. On the timeline, as mentioned, we need to call for a general shareholders' meeting, which takes 30 days. We think we are fully on time to potentially distribute if the assessment of strategy options will lead us there in extraordinary dividend.
Luís Pratas : I'm sorry, just another follow-up. In terms of the ECB, how much time does it take for them to analyze that possibility? Thank you.
Andrea Maffezzoni : We think that the timetable would be in line with, let's say, the time of the offer, which is outstanding.
Luís Pratas : Thank you.
Operator : The next question comes from Hugo Cruz of KBW.
Hugo Cruz : Hi. Hello. Thanks for the time. I have a few questions. First of all, Danish Compromise, I think it was 50 basis points, not included in your targets. Do you still expect to get that benefit? What do you think you can do with the capital released by the implementation of the Danish Compromise? Could it be distributable? Second, the DTA absorption. I'm not sure. The guidance was EUR 500 million a year. I think you've probably done EUR 300 million roughly in the first half. Can you update us on the timing of these? Do you think you can actually absorb them faster? If you could give some guidance there. The third question on, you gave the PBT guidance, which is very helpful, which is after restructuring costs. You're still assuming EUR 300 million of restructuring costs, or is it different for this year? Could you give us guidance for the OpEx before restructuring costs for the full year? It would be very helpful. Thank you.
Andrea Maffezzoni : On the Danish Compromise, we have an outstanding question to the EBA. Waiting for the answer. As you know, the Danish Compromise per se should not lead to regulatory arbitrage. Having said that, we think that in case it is extended to the consolidated group, we think that would be distributable. Second question on the DTA absorption. In the first half, the utilization was around EUR 300 million. Actually, the underlying business is doing particularly well. Compared to the guidance of around EUR 500 million per year, we cannot exclude that there might be an acceleration in the utilization. Third point on restructuring costs. We are following our business plan. The guidance is confirmed on operating costs. We go on with our optimization activities and the synergies with Mediobanca to offset as much as possible all the inflationary effects, such as, for example, the renewal of the national labor contract.
Hugo Cruz : Thank you.
Operator : The next question is from Juan Pablo Lopez of Santander.
Juan Pablo Lopez : Yes. Good morning for taking my questions. Sorry if any of them have already been answered. I joined a bit later. My first question is regarding the strategic options, and how do you see the passivity rule, if you see any limitation there. My second question is regarding a potential disposal of stake of the government and if you have any comment on this one. Lastly, the third question is on commercial activity. If you have seen any increasing competition from the two large banks on corporates, mainly in the and in customer deposits, how do you see the evolution and competition there as well? Thank you.
Luigi Lovaglio : Okay. Let's start with strategic option, because I'm going again to repeat what I said before. The optimal outcome is whichever path creates the greatest long-term value for our shareholders while preserving the integrity of our franchise. Now, clearly, we cannot comment on the stake of the government. The third question was regarding competition. I think I mentioned before that we are gaining market share. It's a trend that is continuing quarter by quarter. I strongly believe that it is a trend that, as is based on sustainable achievement, I think is a trend that we can preserve. Competition is strong, as I mentioned also, in terms of deposits. On that, as usual, we have a double approach on retail. For us, it's strategic, and so we are using an approach that can also use and leverage on prices, while on corporate, it's much more tactical. We like to have a deposit when a customer is working with us and providing additional business that can generate additional fees for us. Strong competition, but we are strong as well. We will keep our pace and try to even over-perform compared to the market. Sorry, regarding the passivity, I think it's quite clear, the general principle. We have an obligation to look for the best solution that can improve and maximize the value for our shareholders. There are rules, and we are fully respecting these rules, and we will keep paying a lot of attention to that. It's clear that we have a duty, and the duty is to look for the best solution for all our stakeholders.
Juan Pablo Lopez : Okay, thank you.
Operator : The final question is the follow-up from Luís Pratas of Autonomous.
Luís Pratas : Hi again. On the EUR 3.6 billion pre-tax profit guidance, could you please provide a bit more detail on this guidance, especially on the core lines, NII, fees, revenues, costs, cost of risk? Thank you.
Luigi Lovaglio : We are already, I think, in the middle of the third quarter. Looking at the results of the second quarter and the six months, I think it's quite easy to understand that if we give this guideline, how much will be the performance in the second part of the year. What we can really say that we plan to have a growing trend in terms of operating income. It's clear that, as Andrea was mentioning before, also we want to pay attention to cost, and so to be almost in line, even if on the fourth quarter we can have a sort of seasonality, so some cost will appear. Anyway, overall, the trend of cost year-on-year will be almost in line, but slightly higher, but even better what we plan. The cost of risk, as we said, will be in line with our guidelines, it's easy to understand line by line what the expected trend is for the second half of the year.
Operator : Mr. Lovaglio, that was the final question, sir. Back to you for any closing remarks.
Luigi Lovaglio : Okay. Thank you very much. I'm thinking if I have to say see you in November or eventually earlier. Let's see. Thank you very much.
Operator : Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for joining. The conference is now over, and you may disconnect your telephones.
