MILAN (Reuters) – UniCredit Chief Executive Andrea Orcel said the Italian government’s initial response to his bank’s unsolicited bid for rival Banco BPM is natural, as every change in the banking system needs careful evaluation. .
After sparking a backlash in Germany in recent months by buying a stake in Commerzbank (ETR:), UniCredit on Monday provoked a concerned response from Italy’s government with its €10 billion ($11 billion) move on the BPM Bank.
The offer, which is currently non-binding, comes after the government successfully sold a 15% stake in the rescued Monte dei Paschi di Siena this month, including to Banco BPM, in a prelude to a possible merger.
The government has long said it wanted the reprivatization of MPS to help it create a third major bank in Italy to rival Intesa Sanpaolo (OTC:) and UniCredit.
“These are complicated operations, when you deal with the banking system you have to be careful, therefore the fact that they (the government) are weighing things is the correct response that we were hoping for,” Orcel told national news outlet TG1 in the RAI. .
“The move towards BPM is something that has been expected for years, it is very complementary for us, it does not have much impact on the network… the impact on clients will be all positive, it adds a lot of value,” he added.
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