Analysis-Credit Agricole’s ‘tortoise’ strategy pays off in Italy’s M&A contest

Written by Valentina Za, Matthew Rozmin and Jiuseppe Fonty

Milan/Paris (Reuters) -The European Bank’s executives who study the movements of integration and purchases at a time when some European Union governments want to be an opinion on any reshaping their banking industry must look at the playing book in Agricole deals.

The French group has become a major actress in the epic of bank unification in Italy, where it played a role in the fate of the Banco BPM, which Unicredit tried to swallow against the Italian government’s opposition.

Unicredit disturbed Rome with its sudden arrival on Banco BPM in November, which led to the exit of a government project to ultimately enhance the link between BPM and Monte de Baschi Siena, backed by state.

On the other hand, the AGRICOLE patient has turned the non -aggressive expansion strategy, in almost two decades, to the largest market for the French group outside France, which represents 15 % of its profits reported in 2024.

Government and banking officials said knowledge of the CA strategy, as well as sources within the company, that a fixed approach depends on the cooperative situation towards the Italian authorities has transformed Agricole (CA) into a reliable counterpart of successive departments in Rome.

“In order to be very clear: the government does not look at the nationality of bankers, but rather in their ability to … collect savings, protect and lend them,” said Italian Economy Minister Giancarlo Giogeletti earlier in July.

Since the end of 2020, the California retail trade has added about 15 billion euros in customer loans. The financial statements of banks show that the local concession for the market leader Intesa Sanpaolo has shrunk the loan book by twice the amount and unicredit by about 22 billion euros.

Unicredit, the second largest bank in Italy, dropped the Banco BPM offer last week, and blamed Rome’s interference in thwarting the project after its conditions imposed by the government in a legal battle, which sparked the interests of UNicredit managers about a strategy that prepared for the government.

CA also said about Aqaba, as a directly involved person said in this process, adding that unicredit failed to agree on the conditions under which the French bank would provide 19.8 % of BPM to obtain a stake in Unicredit.

This month has sought Credit Agricole SA, the entity listed in the joint banking group, in obtaining a mandate from the European Central Bank to cross the property threshold by 20 % in Banco BPM, saying that it will go to this level directly and exclude a full acquisition.

CA, also known as “La Banque Verte” because of its historical relationships with agriculture, partners with BPM about insurance and consumer financing. He became an investor in April 2022 shortly after an unicredit unicottit acquisition attempt.