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The CEO of Intesa Sanpaolo, Italy’s largest lender, called on the government to stop interfering in banking transactions, leaving approvals to the free choice of regulators and shareholders.
“It’s the shareholders… who are invested in the company… who decides their future,” Carlo Messina told the Financial Times. “Governments cannot choose based on their own preferences. . . . They should only intervene when financial stability is at stake.”
The comments come as Intesa’s main rival UniCredit is locked in a twin battle with Rome and Berlin over the possible takeover of Milan-based Banco BPM and German lender Commerzbank. It was announced inside.
UniCredit this week increased its exposure to Commerzbank to 28%, just below the 30% threshold that would force it to make a formal takeover bid. The outgoing German government responded by asking Italian financiers to sell their shares.
“Today it is clear that we are at a stage where political consensus is being built on securing borders in certain areas, but UniCredit already owns a large German bank (HVB),” Messina said. said.
Last month, UniCredit launched a €10 billion takeover offer for crosstown rival BPM, threatening the Italian government’s plan to merge BPM with Monte dei Paschi di Siena, which Rome is privatizing. derailed his plans. BPM rejected the offer as too low and said the acquisition would reduce competition in Italy’s banking market.
“I believe there will be a third big player in Italy anyway, because the market is demanding it,” Messina said.
“We are positive about the increasing consolidation and competition in the Italian banking sector, as they are key to ensuring solid investments in cybersecurity and technology that contribute to the strength of the Italian economy.”
During the decade of Messina’s leadership, Intesa’s market capitalization more than doubled to 69 billion euros, and the bank distributed a record 31 billion euros.
In 2020, it also launched a 4.2 billion euro hostile takeover of rival UBI Banca, which shareholders approved after five months of tense negotiations.
“The acquisition of UBI Banca was carried out within the framework (mentioned earlier), respecting the positions of the various authorities and with full approval from the market,” Messina said.
Messina has made technology upgrades a key pillar of his strategy throughout his most recent three-year term, which expires in April when his contract is up for renewal.
But recent glitches have put the lender’s IT systems in the spotlight, including this month’s failure of a banking app and illegal access by a rogue employee to a politician’s private bank account.
Messina said the bank has since invested more than 30 million euros to build new internal control systems and segregate politicians’ accounts.
