Italy has formally contested European Union critiques of its special intervention powers (“Golden Power”) employed by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s government regarding the UniCredit-Banco BPM operation, according to sources familiar with the matter cited by Bloomberg. A government spokesperson declined Bloomberg’s request for comment. The European Commission confirmed it will assess Italy’s response and “consider next steps,” stated Commission spokeswoman Lea Zuber.
This standoff, ongoing for approximately three months, follows a preliminary opinion issued by Brussels in July. The EU opinion questioned the compatibility of Italy’s actions with Union law, potentially leading to formal infringement proceedings. The dispute escalated after UniCredit announced the withdrawal of its acquisition offer for Banco BPM on July 22nd.
UniCredit attributed the offer’s collapse directly to the Golden Power clause, asserting it was “persistently invoked by BPM’s leadership.” The bank stated this clause prevented UniCredit “from engaging with BPM shareholders in the manner a standard offer process would allow.” While acknowledging progress in talks with the Italian Regional Administrative Court (TAR), the EU’s Directorate-General for Competition (DG Comp), and the Italian government, UniCredit emphasized that resolving the Golden Power issue would extend “well beyond the deadline of our offer and even that of the suspension decided today by Consob [Italy’s market regulator].”
The EU’s investigation continues, with formal infringement procedures against Italy for potential breaches of EU law remaining a possible “next step.” Bloomberg notes that political resistance to banking consolidation is not unique to Italy, citing similar government opposition hindering BBVA’s attempted acquisition of Banco Sabadell in Spain.
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