Banco BPM proposed a €50 billion merger with fellow Italian lender Monte dei Paschi di Siena on June 7, 2026, in a bid to create the country’s second-largest bank and reshape the financial landscape as a financial company consolidation wave accelerates.
Quick Facts
- The combined entity would have a market value exceeding €50 billion
- The merger would generate over €1.1 billion in pretax synergies, including €650 million in cost savings
- The combined bank would overtake UniCredit as Italy’s second-largest by assets
- Intesa Sanpaolo launched a competing €35 billion bid for Monte dei Paschi hours later on June 8
Banco BPM’s board, which includes representatives of France’s Crédit Agricole, unanimously approved the proposal to invite Monte dei Paschi to discuss a “merger of equals.” The deal would elevate earnings per share by more than 10%, driven by annual pretax synergies exceeding €1.1 billion, according to BPM’s statement.
Monte dei Paschi, which Italy’s government reprivatized in 2023-24 after a 2017 bailout, recently completed its acquisition of Mediobanca and is integrating that deal. The bank said it would evaluate BPM’s proposal at a board meeting scheduled for June 8, 2026.
Rival Bids Emerge
Hours after BPM’s announcement, Intesa Sanpaolo—Italy’s largest bank—made an unsolicited €35 billion bid for Monte dei Paschi, representing a 13% premium to the bank’s Friday closing price. Sources also indicated that BPER Banca was weighing a potential move, signaling intense competition for control of the Tuscan lender.
Intesa faces antitrust constraints in Italy following its 2020 acquisition of UBI, which had stripped UniCredit of the title of Italy’s biggest bank. Some sources suggested Intesa was interested only in parts of Monte dei Paschi, implying a potential break-up rather than a full merger.
BPM, working with advisers Citi and Goldman Sachs, became an investor in Monte dei Paschi in November 2024 when the Italian government completed the bank’s reprivatization. The move had previously prompted UniCredit to launch a takeover offer for Banco BPM itself, though that bid ultimately failed in July 2025.
Sources
- Reuters — Banco BPM’s €50 billion merger proposal, market value, synergy targets, and Intesa’s competing bid
- Bloomberg — Merger proposal structure and Italy’s second-largest bank positioning
- Investing.com — €1.1 billion pretax synergies breakdown with cost savings and revenue benefits
- WSJ — Intesa’s €35 billion unsolicited bid and 13% premium detail
