Italian Finance Minister Advocates Bank Growth via Acquisition
Italian Minister of Economy and Finance, Gualtiero Gurgit, stated that Italian banks should be in the position of acquirers rather than targets, amid a wave of mergers and acquisitions occurring within Italy and Germany's banking sectors. He emphasized that the government prefers Italian banks to acquire foreign financial institutions rather than become targets of cross-border deals, welcoming the European approval of UniCredit’s acquisition of Commerzbank for 45 billion euros—Europe’s largest cross-border deal since the financial crisis—on the condition that the bank’s headquarters remain in Italy. He also noted that the government will support the creation of a large European banking group, reaffirming its preference for an Italian bank to be the buyer, and that it will remain neutral regarding the current wave of deals. Additionally, he mentioned that financial institutions will be asked to contribute to funding the 2024 budget, though no further details were provided.
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