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Rome — A bidding warfare is underway for the world's oldest bank, Italy's Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena (MPS).
Founded successful 1472 by the Republic of Siena to supply recognition to poorer citizens, the Tuscan lender has evolved implicit much than 5 centuries into 1 of Italy's largest banking institutions and a cornerstone of the country's fiscal system.
Two rival suitors emerged wrong astir 24 hours. On Monday, Italy's largest bank, Intesa Sanpaolo, launched an unsolicited 31 cardinal euro (about $36 billion) bid for MPS. The connection came conscionable 1 time aft Banco BPM, Italy's third-largest slope by assets, projected what it described arsenic a "merger of equals."
Intesa said its connection would make the second-largest banking radical successful the European Union's communal currency eurozone, down Spain's Banco Santander.
A Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA slope subdivision successful Rome, Italy, is seen successful a Feb. 5, 2026 record photo.
Matteo Bastianelli/Bloomberg/Getty
While Banco BPM did not disclose the fiscal presumption of its offer, it said the combined radical would person a marketplace capitalization of astir 50 cardinal euros ($58 billion), creating Italy's second-largest lender.
Banco BPM's attack has garnered some governmental and fiscal scrutiny. The bank's largest shareholder is French banking elephantine Crédit Agricole, which owns astir 20% of BPM. Critics reason a merger could springiness Paris an indirect way into 1 of Italy's astir strategically important fiscal institutions, raising concerns implicit the aboriginal power of MPS's immense holdings.
MPS owns 13% of Generali Insurance, 1 of Italy's largest backstage holders of authorities bonds - 1 cardinal crushed wherefore a imaginable takeover oregon merger carries value for Italians beyond banking.
While nary elder Italian officials person voiced nationalist absorption to power of MPS falling into French oregon different overseas hands, concerns astir Crédit Agricole's power implicit Banco BPM person repeatedly surfaced wrong governmental and fiscal circles.
The Financial Times reported absorption among immoderate figures wrong Italy's authorities to a BPM-MPS merger implicit the imaginable of accrued French power implicit strategical Italian fiscal assets, including authorities debt.
The contented is particularly delicate for Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's nationalist government, which has taken an progressively interventionist attack to protecting nationally important companies from overseas influence.
According to the Reuters quality agency, Meloni and cardinal allies person antecedently sought to forestall overseas investors from gaining greater power implicit Generali, reflecting a tendency to sphere home power implicit strategical sectors of the economy.
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