Charles Cimbri has chosen the splendid arena of the regattas of theAmerica's Cup in Barcelona, Of which Unipol is the official sponsor of the team Red Moon, to clarify the position of his pawns on the huge table of the bank risk that is being played out in Europe. The Bologna insurance group is seen by many as a possible player on the Mps capital, but its president was very precise about it, saying that have no governance interests, but rather of a trade agreement with Siena, possibly accompanied in that perspective, by a possible purchase of a small share. “It would be an investment below a quota that would require authorization from the control authorities, therefore less than 10%,” said Cimbri.
Unlike Bper and Popular of Sondrio, with which Unipol has "long-term agreements" and a participation "in governance" because "they are part of our strategy" Cimbri noted, Mps "could be of interest only as an addition to the network"distributive. It could therefore be added to our strategy and not integrate our strategy". Unipol's possible interest in MPS is exclusively linked to the potential of the Monte's bancassurance business, particularly in the branch Danni, he specified. “But it is only a hypothesis given that to date MPS has a ongoing joint venture with Axa”, Cimbri points out. Mps has an agreement with Axa until 2027, but according to some hypotheses circulating on the market recently the jv could be dissolved early.
Today Mps has an out-of-market cost
Unipol's growth has been characterised by the acquisition of distressed or semi-distressed assets, which have generated value over the years, as was the case with the acquisition of Fondiaria Sai, or Bper which took over Carige, Cimbri continued, "while today Mps has an out-of-market cost and a very high valuation”. The capitalization of MPS today is 6,2 billion. “As a pure investment I would never do it” he said.
The third pole hypothesis "more of a slogan than a necessity"
Yes, moving away from the hypotheses of a third banking hub in Italy that could have been created by uniting Bper, Popolare di Sondrio and Mps. “The one with Mps would eventually be an operation carried out directly by Unipol and not through Bper which today does not appear ready to carry out an extraordinary operation” Cimbri said in Barcelona. “An integration between Bper and Sondrio would not create value. Indeed, it would risk reducing it and in Italy we already have two large banks as do other European countries. The scenario of a third pole seems more like a slogan that a necessity,” he adds.
Regarding Unipol, Cimbri he said he was available for a new mandate as group president which is completing the merger of Unipol Sai into the parent company Unipol with the renewal of the bodies set for the 2025 assembly. “After 33 years in Bologna I wouldn’t see myself in another group” he said, indicating Matteo Laterza (current CEO of Unipol Sai) as “a natural candidate to have the same role in Unipol”.
No Sondrio-Bper merger
On the hypothesis of a possible consolidation between Bper and Banca Popolare di Sondrio, Cimbri explained that “the two banks are in totally different phases of their lives. Sondrio, smaller, has a high profitability while the CEO of Bper, Gianni Franco Papa, who is working on the new plan, is still engaged in restructuring. An integration would therefore risk destroying value and would be a wrong operation”.
The game of risk continues: Unicredit now aims for 30% of Commerzbank
The Bologna-based insurance group, which already has just under 20% of Bper and Banco Popolare di Sondrio, appeared to be the most likely candidate for MPS, with the Ministry of Economy still having to sell its shares of Monte. Especially after Unicredit This week he instead showed interest in the German Commerzbank taking over 9%. Right at this time Deutsche Bank she entered the game to hinder Unicredit and is exploring possible countermeasures. Among the options that CEO Christian Sewing and his managers are studying is also the purchase of part or all of the remaining 12% of Commerzbank still held by the German government, according to Bloomberg. In the meantime, another assist arrives in Piazza Gae Aulenti: it is the central banker Louis De Guindos, who, following what Christine Lagarde and Joachim Nagel had already said, reiterated: “Let’s see what happens. We have always been in favor of cross-border mergers.”
Meantime Unicredit, According to The messenger should present to the ECB in a few days the authorization request to increase up to 30% of Commerzbank, the so-called takeover threshold. At that point, the newspaper writes, the Eurotower will have 60 days to give its consent, unless it decides to ask for clarifications on the methods of the acquisition and on the business combination.
Banca Generali takes its time on Intermonte
Meanwhile, in another sector of the game, Banca Generali launched yesterday a takeover bid on Intermonte today specified that it will take a few more months to develop the industrial plan, which "will probably be presented to the financial community next spring", as the CEO, Gian Maria Mossa, said in an interview with Sole 24 Ore.
