Italy to set conditions on any Banco BPM–Credit Agricole deal
The Italian government will impose conditions on a potential merger between Banco BPM and the Italian unit of France’s Credit Agricole, Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti said Wednesday.
Banco BPM has been seeking a merger partner after fending off a takeover attempt by rival UniCredit. CEO Giuseppe Castagna has identified Credit Agricole Italia and state-backed Monte dei Paschi di Siena (MPS) as the main options. With MPS already involved in the takeover of Mediobanca, a deal with Credit Agricole is seen as easier to pursue, News.Az reports, citing Reuters.
Asked about political objections to a BPM–Credit Agricole tie-up, Giorgetti said the government would enforce legislation protecting key assets—so-called golden powers—if the merger moves forward. “I have no political objections, I have a law that I must enforce. As I have enforced it for others, I will enforce it for them,” he said.
Castagna recently visited Rome to discuss merger options with senior government officials. Banco BPM owns 9% of MPS, while Credit Agricole is the largest investor in BPM, Italy’s third-largest bank and a key financier of small businesses.
Italy represents Credit Agricole’s largest foreign market, also important for its asset manager Amundi, which partners with UniCredit under a contract expiring in 2027. With public debts of roughly €3 trillion ($3.5 trillion) each, Italy and France have significant refinancing needs, and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has emphasized investing Italian savings domestically.
The Italian government has long aimed to build a third major banking player to rival Intesa Sanpaolo and UniCredit by encouraging a BPM–MPS merger, part of the ongoing reprivatisation of MPS following its 2017 bailout. UniCredit’s attempted takeover of BPM in November initially disrupted that plan before the deal fell through.
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