Latest news with #AndreaOrcel
Reuters
10 hours ago
- Business
- Reuters
ECB's Nagel says savings union more urgent than banking union
MILAN, June 19 (Reuters) - Creating a European Union savings union has become a matter of urgency, European Central Bank policymaker and Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel said on Thursday, adding a closer banking union could follow after that. European policymakers are seeking to foster deeper and more integrated capital markets across the often fragmented 27-member bloc. As part of that, they are pursuing a "savings and investments union" to try to encourage retail investors to fund the investments in energy, defence and technology European needs to bridge the productivity gap with the United States and China. Europe has fallen behind the other major global economic powers, posing a threat to its citizens' living standards. Given growing competition among economic blocs and tense relations with the United States, where a large portion of European savings has typically been invested, Nagel said there was no time to lose. "I think the first step, I believe this is of utmost importance, is to establish the savings and investment union, to do much more here. I think this is now of utmost importance," Nagel told a student conference in Milan. "And then in the next step, we can do the banking union," he said. Speaking at the same conference, UniCredit ( opens new tab CEO Andrea Orcel said the EU needed to become more competitive, which he has perviously said would happen if European banks were allowed to grow in size to better compete with U.S. rivals. Orcel, whose ambitions to take over Commerzbank ( opens new tab have stalled due to strong German opposition, complained about the barriers raised by European governments against the bank's consolidation efforts. Nagel said he shared Orcel's view about the need for Europe to become more competitive, and reiterated his support for a banking union. But he said he thought the banking union was first of all about more uniform rules across different markets, with countries adopting a neighbour's best practice standards wherever necessary, and then consolidation could follow.
Bloomberg
a day ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
UniCredit CEO, Mediobanca Counsel Quizzed in Paschi Sale Probe
By and Antonio Vanuzzo Save UniCredit SpA Chief Executive Officer Andrea Orcel has been quizzed by Milan prosecutors as part of a probe into Italy 's sale of a stake of Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA, according to people familiar with the matter. Orcel as well as Mediobanca SpA General Counsel Stefano Vincenzi were asked to give information to prosecutors in recent months because of their knowledge of the transaction and neither are under investigation or accused of any wrongdoing, added the people, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Reuters
a day ago
- Business
- Reuters
UniCredit CEO, Mediobanca executive give testimony in Monte dei Paschi share probe, source says
MILAN, June 18 (Reuters) - Milan state prosecutors have heard testimony from UniCredit CEO Andrea Orcel and a Mediobanca executive as they look into the government's sale of a 15% stake in Monte dei Paschi di Siena ( opens new tab to a small group of investors in November, a source with knowledge of the matter said. The source, speaking anonymously as the investigation is ongoing, did not say when the pair were questioned and emphasised that neither were under investigation. Mediobanca ( opens new tab declined to comment. A representative for UniCredit ( opens new tab was not immediately able to comment. The Treasury was looking to build a stable core of domestic shareholders in MPS which it rescued in 2017, according to sources ahead of the sale. It sold stakes to Banco BPM , fund manager Anima Holding ( opens new tab, construction tycoon Francesco Gaetano Caltagirone and the holding company of late Ray-Ban owner Leonardo Del Vecchio. Soon after buying its stake, BPM became a takeover target of UniCredit as Orcel moved to thwart government plans to promote a tie-up between BPM and Tuscan bank MPS. The Financial Times reported last year that UniCredit sought in vain to buy a 10% stake in MPS during the sale process. The Economy Ministry said the sale was handled "transparently". It is not known which alleged crimes Milan prosecutors are investigating or who is under investigation. UniCredit is now locked in a legal battle with the government over conditions Rome has imposed on its bid for Banco BPM. Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti has threatened to resign if the government were to budge on the conditions. On Wednesday, Giorgetti declined to answer when asked if anyone from his ministry was under investigation over the MPS stake placement. "Prosecutors do their job, what can I say?," he told reporters on the sidelines of a parliamentary hearing. The takeover war unfolding in Italy and the role the government is playing has raised alarm bells in the European Union and has disconcerted investors. On Thursday, a ruling on UniCredit's takeover of BPM is expected from EU competition authorities, who are looking into the conditions Italy has set. A separate EU scrutiny of how Italy vets banking deals is ongoing and could lead to fines. As part of the Milan investigation police has secured documents relating to the transaction from the offices of Banca Akros, the broker that handled the process which is a Banco BPM subsidiary. Banca Akros has said it handled the process "correctly and transparently", fully complying with applicable regulations.
Reuters
3 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
UniCredit CEO says to gradually exit Generali investment
MILAN, June 17 (Reuters) - UniCredit's ( opens new tab Chief Executive Andrea Orcel on Tuesday vowed to gradually reduce the stake it has built in the country's top insurer Generali ( opens new tab, ruling out large insurance deals for Italy's second-biggest lender. Speaking at a conference organised by rival Mediobanca, Orcel said building stakes in a target company as a first step towards potential tie-ups could be a good strategy, given widespread government hostility across Europe to bank M&A. However, "I want to be very clear, the investment in Generali is not that," Orcel said. "We will be reducing it and exiting it over time."
Reuters
12-06-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Commerzbank CEO criticizes UniCredit for trying to talk down share price
FRANKFURT, June 12 (Reuters) - Commerzbank ( opens new tab CEO Bettina Orlopp on Thursday criticized the Italian bank UniCredit ( opens new tab for talking down the share price of the German lender by saying its shares had risen excessively. The outspoken comments by Commerzbank's CEO come a day after Andrea Orcel, the CEO of UniCredit, called Commerzbank's share price not reflective of fundamentals. "We do not like and we do not accept any approach which basically undermines our strategy and our share price development," Orlopp said at a conference. UniCredit has acquired a large stake in the German lender and has been pushing for a takeover, despite resistance from Commerzbank management and the government. Orlopp said that Commerzbank's share price, which has more than doubled since UniCredit bought in, is fair and condemned the attempt to "talk our share price down just because there might be also some other interests in play".
