In Europe “all These barriers and this nationalism should not exist: we are one of the most efficient and profitable banks because all our employees have decided to do what is necessary to do and to bypass the barriers". This was stated clearly by number one of Unicredit Andrea Orcel.
While the markets are talking about nothing else but the possible exchange offer that the bank would have made to Delfin (about 5% of Unicredit for the 10% of Generali held by the holding), in his speech at the conference of the Fii Institute Europe 2026 in Rome, the manager spoke about the cross-border risk, criticizing the obstacles that prevent or slow down banking consolidation. Europe, he explained, "knows exactly what it must do" to regain momentum and competitiveness in the global economy, but "we need political will to act", he said, recalling how some of the most serious crises of recent years have demonstrated that cooperation between member states is possible. He was referring to the shocks that have hit the continent, from the pandemic to the war between Russia and Ukraine, events that, according to the UniCredit CEO, have helped create new spaces for collaboration.
“As a European I am always optimistic and I think that today there is more debate than ever about taking action,” added Orcel, stressing that the European institutions are leading the shift “from prioritising to implementing” and that everyone's commitment is needed to “break down the last resistances”.
Commerz: "Fear is sovereignty, but fragmentation leads to market losses."
Orcel's words acquire even more meaning considering the moment in which I arrive, that is, a few days after the latest forceful entry of the Berlin Government which, with a timing that is far from coincidental, on the last day of the OPS membership period launched by Unicredit on Commerzbank, has returned to criticize Piazza Gae Aulenti, its offer and its "behavior".
“Is it better to control something that doesn't work or share something that does? This is the problem we have, there is a fear of losing sovereignty", Orcel said, speaking of banking fragmentation. In view of the reopening of the takeover bid, scheduled for Saturday, June 20, the reference to Commerzbank is clear, even though the UniCredit CEO never mentioned it during his speech.
27% of bank customers on the German market, the CEO explained, “he is not satisfied”, is one of the markets “with the highest fintech penetration and in which American groups are gaining ground: the problem is “fragmentation"There is no scalability and there is no investment." "I say this because I was in Germany for twenty years," he concluded. "What is missing, as Europe, is that we have allowed the threats of our competitors to gain a foothold."
Orcel on Iran: "We will feel the long-term impact of the crisis."
Even “if we were not unprepared for the uncertainty” “I think that in the short term it will be difficult to recover what we had in the past and that In the long term we will feel the impact of this situation"Orcel said, speaking about the impact of the Iranian crisis on the energy market in particular. "Many countries are using their reserves, and if we consider our customers and SMEs, especially in Europe, they had to face a similar shock with the Russian invasion of Ukraine," he said. "So we were not unprepared, but the'continuous insecurity'.
