Rome alarmed by French push into Italian finance

The Italian government is increasingly worried about the growing French presence in its finance industry, with two major deals potentially reshaping the market.

Officials are considering steps to maintain Italian control in a potential tie-up between Assicurazioni Generali SpA and Paris-based Natixis Investment Managers, according to people familiar with the matter.

Simultaneously, Credit Agricole SA has raised its stake in Banco BPM SpA, complicating Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s strategy for the banking industry.

Government officials across the EU are concerned about consolidation in the finance industry, which could create winners and losers among national governments. The German government recently urged UniCredit to sell its stake in Commerzbank AG to deter a full takeover bid.

One major issue with the Natixis-Generali deal is that Generali holds significant Italian sovereign bonds. Meloni might use the “Golden Power” provision to block or impose conditions on the deal. Officials are evaluating several scenarios but have not taken concrete action yet.

Meloni previously used her golden power prerogative to impose restrictions on tiremaker Pirelli & C. SpA’s largest investor, China’s Sinochem International Corp., to limit access to information from sensors in Pirelli tires.

Overall, officials in Rome are wary of broad consolidation and its impact on Italy if financial and industrial assets are concentrated in France and Germany. While Italy could benefit from a potential UniCredit acquisition of Commerzbank, the move has unsettled the European banking industry and Meloni’s administration.

Attribution: Bloomberg

Subediting: M. S. Salama