Italy is moving towards exiting its shareholdings in domestic banks, Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti said, pointing to a possible sale of the state’s 4.9% stake in Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena (MPS), reported Reuters.
Addressing the annual gathering of banking association ABI in Rome, Giorgetti said the authorities were also following the current phase of consolidation in the Italian banking sector, in an apparent reference to Intesa Sanpaolo’s €30.6bn ($35bn) cash-and-share offer for MPS.
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“I am confident that this will be the last ABI meeting in which the government is a shareholder in some major banks, as the role played by the public shareholder has come to an end,” he said.
Giorgetti said last month that an accelerated bookbuilding procedure would be “one of the best solutions” for lowering the state’s stake in MPS.
According to sources cited by Reuters, the Treasury had examined that route shortly before Intesa formally launched its bid in early June.
Based on current market prices, the government’s holding in MPS is valued at €1.7bn.
A disposal of the MPS stake before the start of Intesa’s bid would fit with the government’s stated “neutral stance” on banking M&A activity.
Banco BPM, the country’s fourth-largest lender, has also said it wanted to begin discussions with MPS on a possible merger.
Italy has also moved to return BDM, a smaller bank rescued in several stages since late 2019, to private ownership.
Giorgetti said consolidation should strengthen the banking system’s capacity to support the international standing of Italian companies and promote investment in technology, security and innovation.
Speaking at the same event, Bank of Italy Governor Fabio Panetta said mergers should preserve “competition, pluralism and banks’ responsiveness to the needs of the real economy.”
