UniCredit CEO Orcel "less optimistic" about European bank M&A prospects

Reuters

Wed, Mar 19, 2025, 4:21 AM 2 min read

LONDON (Reuters) - UniCredit's CEO Andrea Orcel said connected Wednesday helium was "less optimistic" astir the prospects for sizeable European banking consolidation than a fewer months agone due to the fact that slope bosses were increasing progressively tense astir the clip needed to execute deals.

Orcel thrust his slope into 2 M&A situations past twelvemonth by acquiring up to 30% successful Germany's Commerzbank and bidding for Italian adjacent Banco BPM, heightening expectations for a question of dealmaking crossed the region.

The dealmaker-turned-CEO told an lawsuit successful London that it would beryllium astatine slightest a twelvemonth earlier helium had turned his archetypal 9% involvement - announced successful September past twelvemonth - successful Commerzbank into a 30% holding, and 9 months earlier UniCredit had decided whether to proceed with its bid for BPM.

"This is simply a agelong time, this is simply a batch of uncertainty," helium told the Morgan Stanley European Financials Conference successful London.

Unless European authorities made beardown signals astir advancement connected a European banking union, cross-border M&A was improbable and adjacent ample home consolidation, helium added. "I americium little affirmative than I was astatine the extremity of past year, connected radical doing things successful size," helium said.

UniCredit received support from the European Central Bank past week to bargain up to 30% successful Commerzbank, and that it would apt hold until 2026 earlier taking a determination connected pursuing a afloat takeover.

Orcel said connected Wednesday the lender indispensable present hold for approvals from German anti-trust authorities, which could instrumentality months, and to prosecute with a caller German government, earlier deciding whether to person derivatives positions it holds into shares.

"It is hard to spot however we tin beryllium connected the different broadside of things earlier September oregon October," helium said.

Orcel besides told the lawsuit that UniCredit could summation its concern into its German concern due to the fact that the fiscal spending announced successful the state Germany's prospects.

(Reporting by Tommy Reggiori Wilkes; Editing by Iain Withers and Sinead Cruise)