In the debate on the government and the use of the Golden Power in Unicredit and Banco Bpm, the positions of bank leaders reflect tensions between national security, market and strategic interests
In the midst of the Italian banking Risiko, the curtain rises on the debate around the use of the Golden Power by the government. To take a position are some of the main protagonists of the banking and insurance sector, with diversified reactions but all centered on the delicate balance between market, national security and strategic interests.
Carlo Messina, delegated councilor of Intesa Sanpaolo, defends with conviction the use of special powers in the operation involving Unicredit and Banco Bpm. “The use of the Golden Power is part of the new world in which we entered,” he said, intervening at the National Council of Fabi, underlining how today the management of savings must be considered a question of national security. “It amazes me that it has only arrived now,” he added with almost critical tone towards a systemic delay in the country in adopting these tools.
Messina has also expressed concern for the tensions that cross the national banking system: «The ongoing bank consolidation is not offering an image of Best Practice. Dialectics and current hostility risk compromising the image of the country “. Speaking of Generali, Messina clarified her position: in the event of an attempt to climb Unicredit, “I would call Andrea Orcel and I would say: stop”. The manager then reiterated the intention of Intesa Sanpaolo not to force his hand on operations that could create antitrust problems: “I would also act as a spectator in that case”.
On the same line, the CEO of Banco Bpm Giuseppe Castagna, who expressed a positive judgment on the government’s intervention in the operation proposed by Unicredit. “The Golden Power is a legitimate tool, already applied in the past, and in this case it seems justified to me,” he said, referring to the critical issues related to the presence of Unicredit in Russia. “The government has the right not to want to see an operator who makes profits in a country with which we are in political conflict”. Castagna then criticized Unicredit’s offer, defining it without value content for shareholders, and has claimed the right of BPM to defend itself, waiting for a concrete offer: “We are serene, but not willing to make fun of us”.
Carlo Cimbri, president of Unipol, was more critical of the government approach. Hha expressed perplexity on state participation in the banking area, in particular on MPS. «I find it wrong that a government has a stable and financial presence in a banking entity. When there is a mixture of roles, the system may not work fluidly, “he said, warning against the risks of overlap between public interest and private operation.
The debate remains open, with also conflicting visions, but a common point seems to emerge: in an unstable international context and with the pressure of new geopolitical balances, the financial sector has returned to being a strategic land where politics plays a leading role.
