For the Bank of the South A new contender has unexpectedly emerged. Last week, speaking about the Italian banking game at the Mediobanca CEO Conference, UniCredit CEO Andrea Orcell he had commented: “We are just observers”. “It's fun,” he then added smiling. But if for the moment Piazza Gae Aulenti has decided to stay out of the bigger games, the bank has instead chosen, surprisingly, to compete in the smaller league, taking part in the risky game to conquer the Bank of the South.
Four non-binding offers for the former Bari Popular player
For now there is no official confirmation, but according to rumours, by the deadline of June 29th, the parent company Mediocredito Centrale (in turn controlled by the Ministry of Economy and Finance through Invitalia) would have received four non-binding offers for the former Popolare di BariAmong the certain suitors there are believe and the group formed by Bcc Icreate e Banca Popolare di Puglia and Basilicata, with the latter expected to share the branches of the Apulian institute. The French are also joining the race Crédit Agricole which would instead focus on BdM Banca to strengthen its position in Southern Italy, while in the North the intention is to increase Banco Bpm's stake to 29,9%. And surprisingly, it has also decided to join the game Unicredit.
The former People's Bank of Bari was rescued and rehabilitated by the state with €1,6 billion in public resources, €1,2 billion of which came from the Interbank Fund. Today, it is under the supervision of MCC (Mediocredito Centrale), the financial arm of the Ministry of the Economy and Finance. Its assets are close to €1 billion. 600 million euro and a network of 300 branches rooted in Southern Italy, whose area of operation has been progressively extended over time to Central-Northern Italy (Rome and Lombardy). In 2025 BdM Banca recorded 31,8 euros of profits (+42%), putting aside the strong difficulties experienced in the past.
BDM Banca: the next steps
After the submission of non-binding offers, the data room phase begins. binding offers Instead, they are expected to arrive over the summer, with the contract being awarded in the fall. Rumors indicate a starting price of around €500-600 million, and the bids would also take into account a capital increase to cover approximately 400 redundancies through early retirements.
