Crédit Agricole returns to send a clear message to the market, but above all to Monte dei Paschi which a month ago launched an offer on Banco Bpm: "Nothing can be done without us. Nothing can be done against us." He said this bluntly in an interview with Cnbc Clotilde L'Angevin, Deputy General Manager of Banque Verte with responsibility for Finance and Planning. These words are very similar to those used in July by Deputy CEO Jérôme Grivet during the presentation of the half-year results, while CEO Olivier Gavalda had stated that he saw difficulty in creating value for the Bank's shareholders, effectively closing the door to a possible marriage of equals between the Bank and MPS. So the rumors are changing, but the script repeats itself, a sign that the position of Agricole, Piazza Meda's largest shareholder with a 29,3% stake, hasn't changed at all over the months—quite the opposite.
Banco BPM, Agricole reiterates: "Nothing can be done without or against us."
“Italy is our second largest domestic market, so it's very important to us. All our operations are located in Italy. 20% of our profits come from Italy and half of that comes from our retail bank,” Angevin said, quoted by M.F.
"Ours is a strong position because we are in a position where we can defend our interests. Nothing can be done without us. Nothing can be done against us”, continued the manager, saying that she is not in a hurry: “We are also patient, because in Italy let's really think in the long term".
The proposed merger between Banco BPM and Crédit Agricole Italia
But if the merger with MPS is not convincing, whatever the form chosen – from the merger of equals we have moved on to a hostile offer – "there are many different scenarios that we can consider", explains Angevin, indicating as an "interesting scenario, very interesting for us” the possible merger between Banco Bpm and Crédit Agricole Italia, "which would generate synergies." "We are being cautious," he continued, "we are patient, and we are here to stay in Italy. So we are calmly examining all the different scenarios."
Rumors about Unicredit
Meantime the title Banco Bpm continues to rise on the stock market (+1,46% in today's session) pushed upwards by rumours according to which Agricole and Unicredit are thinking of putting aside old disagreements to start a joint initiative on Piazza Mea.
