TERAMO. There will be a new judgment on the so-called “derivatives”. The two banks condemned at first instance to return 2.1 million euros to the Municipality for financial contracts deemed irregular have in fact decided to appeal. This is what can be seen from the resolution with which the council decided to appear in the process through a lawyer who was entrusted with the task of promoting and protecting the reasons of the organization in the case in question. This is the lawyer from Pescara Duilio Manella which has already dealt with the matter in the mediation phase between the Municipality and the two banks and in the first instance proceedings. In the trial celebrated in Rome and which ended in December, the credit institutions were sentenced to compensate just over one million euros to the institution for the contracts, also known as swaps, signed in 2006. With that operation the administration secured fresh resources for over 16 million to be repaid in installments over twenty years with the addition of interest. Until 2015 the Municipality paid amounts of up to 400 thousand euros a year to repay the loan. The payments, however, were suspended following the challenge of the contracts by the administration which considered them flawed. In the dispute, opened eight years ago, it was noted among other things that the activation of the swaps was illegitimate because it was decided by the council and not by the council.
While awaiting the outcome of the trial, the Municipality had to set aside around 200 thousand euros a year to cover the expense in the event of an unfavorable outcome. The Roman court, however, ruled in favor of the entity, also citing a ruling from the Court of Cassation according to which the green light for the signing of derivative contracts had to be given with a vote in the city council, so the council resolution alone was not sufficient. The administration’s thesis was essentially accepted and was supported at the time of the signing of the agreements with the two banks by the opposition of which the current mayor was a member Gianguido D’Alberto. For the two credit institutions, however, there are conditions to overturn the first judgment and avoid the disbursement.
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