Market Chatter: Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena Mulls Takeover of Banco BPM

MT Newswires · 1d ago
11:43 PM EDT, 08/02/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena (BMPS.MI) is exploring a potential takeover of fellow Italian lender Banco BPM (BAMI.MI) as an option to fend off advances from Intesa Sanpaolo (ISP.MI), London's Financial Times reported Sunday, citing people familiar with the matter. The unnamed sources said Monte Paschi Chief Executive Officer Luigi Lovaglio considered a meeting with Banco BPM's largest shareholder, French banking group Crédit Agricole (ACA.PA), to facilitate discussions. They said no contact was made over the weekend and that any deal will require engagement from the French group, which owns a 29.3% stake in Banco BPM. Banco BPM already submitted a merger proposal for Monte Paschi, and directors of the latter said they intend to carry out deeper technical analyses of the offer amid a separate review of Intesa's bid. Monte Paschi and Banco BPM did not immediately respond to requests for comments from MT Newswires. (Market Chatter news is derived from conversations with market professionals globally. This information is believed to be from reliable sources but may include rumor and speculation. Accuracy is not guaranteed.)