The head of Italy’s UniCredit bank says his company is concentrating on a possible deal with Germany’s Commerzbank instead of pursuing mergers with other Italian financial institutions, according to remarks made Wednesday at a banking conference.
CEO Andrea Orcel addressed attendees at a Morgan Stanley financial conference in London, explaining that while future opportunities for Italian banking consolidation may emerge, the German bank partnership remains the current focus.
Orcel noted that any consolidation within Italy’s banking sector would ultimately be determined by shareholders who hold effective control over their institutions.
The executive identified three Italian banking groups that could potentially consider partnerships either among themselves or with UniCredit – referring to mid-sized lenders Banco BPM, Monte dei Paschi di Siena, and BPER.
“I let you speculate what the view of the shareholders in … every one of the three situation is. But at the moment, it is fair to say that we have not seen… any opening for negotiating anything,” Orcel stated.
He explained the complexity of dealing with controlling shareholders: “When you have, let’s say, de facto controlling shareholders in those groups, they all want something, and landing to a situation where everybody’s happy is a lot more difficult than what we’re talking about here today.”
Regarding Monte dei Paschi specifically, Orcel described one situation as “more fluid” than others, noting that shareholders will soon select a new chief executive.
“It’s not exactly a moment where the next day they want to do something with someone else. There is a lag,” he observed.
Despite its Italian origins, Orcel emphasized UniCredit’s broader European vision. The bank CEO said UniCredit remains “very proud” of its Italian heritage, “but to a certain extent, these are roots that we have much expanded, okay? Our model of bank, our vision of where we want to go is pan-European.”
UniCredit currently operates across 13 European markets and already controls German bank HVB. The company’s interest in Commerzbank began before Orcel assumed leadership in 2021.
Italian government officials have expressed concerns that the country’s second-largest bank might diminish its Italian character and become overly German-focused through such a merger.
While the current Italian government has remained quiet about Orcel’s Commerzbank pursuit, sources indicate officials strongly oppose any potential move of UniCredit’s corporate headquarters to Germany. UniCredit has previously dismissed the possibility of such a relocation.
