After the failure of the MPS operation, the CEO of Banco BPM Giuseppe Castagna opened up to the possible merger between the Milanese credit institution and Crédit Agricole Italia, the Italian branch of the French bank which controls just under 30% of BPM. CA was among the main opponents of the merger with Bpm.
For account holders, such an operation could mean a change of branch, given that the two banks would rationalize their branches in the area to avoid duplication. The Government, however, could intervene with the Golden Power.
Castagna announces the possible merger between Bpm and Crédit Agricole
The CEO of Banco Bpm suggested, with some statements, that Crédit Agricole, a French bank which is the most important shareholder of Bpm with 29.3% of the shares, could evaluate a merger project between its Italian branch and the Milanese bank. Castagna explained:
This operation has always been a possibility, for at least two, three or four years: since they became our shareholders there has been a potential opportunity on the table. We will examine this potential opportunity to evaluate whether it becomes possible and true in the interests of all shareholders of the bank.
Castagna seemed optimistic, calling the merger an “industrially solid” option for Bpm, which recently had to give up another merger plan, the one with Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena.
What happened with MPS
In recent weeks, Banco Bpm and Monte dei Paschi di Siena had announced a merger plan. The objective was to create the so-called Italian “third banking hub”, that is, a bank of such a size as to be able to compete with the two main Italian banks, UniCredit and Intesa Sanpaolo. However, the move also had two objectives:
- strengthen the control of the Caltagirone and Del Vecchio families over Assicurazioni Generali, of which MPS is a shareholder;
- defend the two banks from takeover attempts, in particular those of Intesa Sanpaolo towards MPS.
The decision “dredged out” Intesa Sanpaolo, the largest Italian bank, which had long been thought to be able to submit an offer for MPS. This is in fact what happened, and it was precisely the strength of this offer that pushed Bpm to abandon the project. Castagna specified that the decision was unanimous in the Board of Directors, but it is clear that Crédit Agricole was the shareholder most opposed to the merger with MPS.
What would change for account holders
The merger between two banks present in the same territory usually brings some important changes for account holders. In particular, the reference branch of many families could change. These operations, in fact, lead to the creation of “duplicates”, branches that cover the same territory because, previously, they were competitors.
After the merger, the presence of one of the two would be superfluous and therefore customers could find themselves changing branches. However, this is still a remote possibility, because the merger is only a hypothesis that must overcome many obstacles.
Because the Government could intervene
One of the main obstacles is represented by the Meloni Government, which could use the Golden Power to block the merger. This would be a classic use of this law, to prevent a foreign company from taking control of an Italian bank.
