ROME (Reuters) – The Italian government may take decisions using its so-called “golden powers” to set conditions over bank takeovers at a cabinet meeting on Friday, Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti said.
Giorgetti’s comment, made at the launch of a business magazine in Rome on Thursday, comes as Italy’s second largest bank UniCredit prepares to launch a 14 billion-euro ($16 billion) all-share bid for smaller peer Banco BPM.
Asked if the cabinet would exercise its special powers to set conditions on takeovers regarding strategic sectors at Friday’s meeting, Giorgetti replied: “maybe, we have deadlines that we need to respect.”
Rome is set to clear the UniCredit-Banco BPM transaction with binding conditions including a requirement that UniCredit exit its interests in Russia as soon as possible, a source close to the matter told Reuters on Wednesday.
UniCredit is among only a handful of international banks that did not leave Russia after the onset of the Ukraine war in 2022, with CEO Andrea Orcel saying he refused to damage shareholders by exiting without a fair price for the assets.
In an indirect reference to Orcel, Giorgetti said: “the difference between a minister and a banker is that the banker is rightly concerned with individual profit, while the minister has to act in the general interest, so it’s natural that there is some conflict.”
UniCredit plans to launch its bid for Banco BPM on April 28, but it has reserved the right to wait until as late as June 30 to decide whether to waive the conditions that would currently allow it to withdraw.
(Reporting by Giuseppe Fonte, writing by Gavin Jones, editing by Alvise Armellini)
