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BancoBpm proposes a merger to Mps

The deal aims to create a new banking giant with profits of €6 billion – The proposal will be put before Siena’s board of directors tomorrow

7 June 2026

4' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

4' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

The banking game has resumed. Everything has accelerated in the space of a few hours, following weeks in which talks between the top management of Banco BPM and MPS had been attempting to outline possible options for a merger. The catalyst for the flurry of banking mergers was market speculation regarding a bid by BPER for the MPS group. This development triggered the first move of 2026 on the banking chessboard. One thing is certain, it will not be the last: “Banco BPM proposes to Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena to discuss and agree on a merger.” Everything is still taking shape; the bank is promising €1.1 billion in synergies to shareholders, and we will soon see the reaction of the Milan Stock Exchange and, of course, its competitors. What is certain is that the race for bank mergers has started again. A new wave set to reshape the Milan Stock Exchange, where the banking sector dominated both in terms of focus and performance in 2025, with six takeover bids, most of which were hostile. Now it starts all over again. The first round of the merry-go-round is up to Giuseppe Castagna.

What does Banco BPM offer?

The offer from the Banco BPM Group for the Siena-based bank led by Luigi Lovaglio will be on the table at the MPS board meeting on Monday: “The transaction aims to create a new leading banking and financial group in Italia, the second-largest national operator by size.” The merger would be implemented in the manner typical of ‘so-called mergers of equals, the most coherent solution for aligning all shareholders behind a common business plan, preserving the DNA of the two institutions and enhancing their respective cultures’, according to a statement.

“Today, the Board of Directors of Banco BPM unanimously resolved to send a letter to Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena S.p.A. (“MPS”) a letter in which Banco BPM expressed its interest in initiating a dialogue aimed at discussing and agreeing on a potential merger between the two institutions in relation to customer lending and deposits,” the statement reads.

Castagna's strategy

The group led by Giuseppe Castagna explains that the operation aims to create a new giant with around €6 billion in profits once fully operational and would be founded on a ‘clear strategic rationale, based on a series of key elements which, taken together, represent the main drivers of value creation for the group resulting from the merger’: “the creation of a new national champion, the second-largest domestic banking operator by size, capable of meeting the new challenges posed by the evolution of the banking market and supporting the country’s growth; geographical integration with comprehensive coverage across the entire country, with a strong presence in the Italian regions with the greatest potential (in particular, the leading operator by number of branches in Lombardy, Tuscany and Veneto) and a strengthening of competitive positioning in various regions of Central and Southern Italia; industrial complementarity of product lines and significant upside potential arising from their possible optimisation, with reference both to activities historically outsourced by MPS and recently brought in-house by Banco BPM, and to the complementary product lines contributed by the MPS–Mediobanca group»

Generali's stake

Obviously, the issue is not limited to traditional banking activities. Through Mediobanca, MPS holds a 13.32% stake in Generali: “Further benefits deriving from the stake in Assicurazioni Generali,” argues Banco Bpm, “whose decisive importance would allow the scope of strategic options available to the group to be expanded, in the interests of the shareholders of all entities and their respective stakeholders”

Synergies worth 1.1 billion

In short, the first draft of the Banco BPM project envisages ‘significant synergy potential, once fully implemented, in excess of €1.1 billion before tax, comprising over €650 million in cost synergies and over €450 million in revenue synergies, of which approximately €250 million is generated by higher revenues from the networks and approximately €200 million from the optimisation of product lines. According to Castagna, the transaction would lead to ‘achieving an operational scale sufficient to support technological investments and competitive positioning, enabling the group to compete with leading international operators and new digital players’

The market capitalisation of the resulting group is estimated to potentially exceed 50 billion, thereby strengthening its position in the capital markets and broadening its investor base.

No comment from the French

No comment has been issued by Crédit Agricole, Banco BPM’s largest shareholder with a 22.9% stake. However, the French group’s representatives on the board supported the decision to initiate talks with Monte dei Paschi, contributing to the ‘unanimity’ with which the resolution was passed by the Banco’s board. Initial reactions from the political sphere were also positive: “The merger between Banco BPM and MPS, which appears to be taking shape today, represents an excellent opportunity to create the third-largest national banking group. If it goes ahead, our financial system will certainly emerge stronger. We will continue to closely monitor developments in the banking sector, in accordance with market rules. Above all, it is important that, following all these financial transactions, the Italian business sector is guaranteed ever-increasing resources to grow and prosper,” said Forza Italia Senator Pierantonio Zanettin, chairman of the parliamentary commission of inquiry into the banking, financial and insurance system.