Banco BPM is well positioned for M&A and is reviewing all options, CEO says
05/05/2026 19:47
MILAN, May 5 (Reuters) - Banco BPM BAMI.MI is well positioned to benefit from merger and acquisition opportunities on the Italian market and is examining all options, its chief executive said on Tuesday, signalling an increasingly proactive stance on dealmaking. CEO Giuseppe Castagna has been flagging BPM's readiness to pursue further M&A after Italy's fourth largest bank bought fund manager Anima last year and managed to dodge a takeover bid from UniCredit CRDI.MI. Castagna spoke after securing a new mandate at the helm from shareholders and amid intensifying market speculation that a long-mooted merger with rival Monte dei Paschi di Siena BMPS.MI could materialise. BPM's main shareholder is France's Credit Agricole CAGR.PA while BPM itself owns 3.7% of Monte dei Paschi and last month played a key role in a fraught shareholder vote that reinstated the Tuscan bank's ousted CEO. Castagna said BPM was looking at both large and small deals involving banks or other fee-generating businesses. "It is difficult to say which one will materialise, but we are reviewing all situations," he told analysts on a post-results conference call. He reiterated that both the Italian arm of Credit Agricole and Monte dei Paschi were natural options as merger partners given existing shareholder ties, but he also said timing was important and this may not be the best time for a deal. "Let's wait and see to understand what the other parties are willing to do," he said. (Reporting by Andrea Mandalà, editing by Valentina Za) ((andrea.mandala@thomsonreuters.com; +390680307738;))