The cooperative banking sector is in full swing. In view of the transformations into Spas, as established by the Renzi government decree, the popular ones are in full evolution. Hand in hand with the preliminary interviews for the choice of advisors, the popular ones are moving to stabilize the governance that will lead them towards the new aggregations.
Among the strong shareholders of the popular banks, the constant presence of Blackrock stands out, which never misses an opportunity to rake in the shares of the institutes. But not only Blackrock: the Renzi decree on the transformation of the Popolari into Spas has shaken the appetite of other financial giants such as Norges Bank and Deutsche Bank. But the drafting of a complete and detailed map of the shareholders within the cooperatives is complicated by the fact that many of the shareholders remain below the 2% threshold and are not required to disclose their shareholding.
But based on an elaboration by Milano Finanza on Bloomberg data, the weight of the American giant on cooperative banks appears clear. Blackrock boasts significant stakes in the country's main popular companies for a total of 500 million euros. Among the most interesting shares, 3,69% in Banca Popolare di Milano; 2,44% in Banco Popolare and 2,47% in Ubi Banca. On the other hand, more modest holdings are held in Banca Popolare dell'Emilia e Romagna where Blackrock stops at 1,23% and in Banca Popolare di Sondrio in which Blackrock has a stake of 0,91%.
The Norwegian central bank, Norges Bank, is also very present in the Italian cooperatives with significant stakes in Bpm with 2,05%, in Banco Popolare with 2,13%, in Ubi with 1,54%, in Credito Valtellinese with 1,49%, in Banca Popolare di Sondrio with 2,29% and finally, in Bpem with 2,02%.
Dimensional Fund, a Texan investment group currently a major shareholder of Bper with 431%, boasts a stake in popular companies of around 3,17 million euros. Deutsche bank also maintains a good presence on the popular Italian banks with significant stakes in Banco Popolare (0,24%), Bper (0,69%) and Ubi (0,29%). But the real new entry of 2015 in cooperative banks is Lyxor, a French investment company, which since the beginning of the year has bought percentages just under 1% in almost all cooperative banks.
The giants of Italian finance are not excluded. The popular sector is also of interest to local investors such as Intesa Sanpaolo present in Bpm with 1,06%, Assicurazioni Generali, the largest shareholder of Credito Valtellinese with 2,73% and with 1,43% of Bper .
