With the acquisition of Bpm bench on the part of Unicredit Customers of the two banks may notice some changes in the way they interact with their respective lenders. Often during mergers some current account and home banking details are changed to improve integration between the two companies.
They will also be involved Webank, Banca Aletti and Banca Akros. However, there will be no problems for savings deposited in current accounts, thanks also to the interbank fund which guarantees them up to at least 100 thousand euros. The changes will also have to wait for the end of the financial operation which, if everything goes as planned, will arrive in more than a year.
Unicredit and Bpm, what changes for customers
Unicredit, one of the most important Italian banks, has presented a public exchange offer for all the shares of Banco Bpm. This is an acquisition proposal that offers financial instruments, in this case shares of Unicredit itself, in exchange for the securities of the company you want to acquire, in the circumstance Banco Bpm. The operation will be completed within the next 12 months, unless the Government, as mentioned by ministers Salvini and Giorgetti, opposes.
For customers, this acquisition could lead to some changes. In particular, they will be the customers of Banco Bpm and the other companies that the group controls, Banca Aletti, Banca Akros and Webank, having to adapt to the new reality. First of all, as underlined by Unicredit itself, they will become part of one of the largest conglomerates in Europe, with much broader service offerings than those that a relatively small bank like Bpm could offer.
But they are also there changes more practical:
- The Iban will change. The code that identifies your current account and is used to make payments into it will most likely be changed to reflect the new ownership of the bank.
- Your home banking login credentials will change. Digital services are often the first to be integrated and, by joining the Unicredit group, Bpm customers may find themselves changing usernames or passwords used to access apps and sites from which to control their banking operations.
What to do if you are a Bpm customer
Almost everything else will remain the same. Savings are guaranteed by the interbank fund up to 100 thousand euros. Mortgages and loans will be unchanged. There may be changes to the contractual conditions of current accounts, but in that case the bank is obliged to communicate any changes to the customer two months in advance. From that moment the account can be closed without any penalty.
For the moment, therefore, to customers Bpm all that remains is to wait. The transaction will be completed within the next 12 months, with a maximum of another 6 months for approval. Once completed, the bank will effectively become part of the Unicredit group, unless the Government objects. Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti hinted that golden power, which allows the executive to block an acquisition, could be used. Usually, however, this rule is used only if a foreign company is involved that wants to take control of a strategic Italian company.
