Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on January 15, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 27, 2026
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Italy will not enhance golden power rules in finance, despite speculation about a decree affecting UniCredit's Banco BPM bid, says Economy Minister.
ROME (Reuters) - The Italian government has no plans to strengthen its "golden power" legislation to intervene in mergers and takeovers in the financial sector, Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti said on Wednesday.
The golden power rules, designed at the European Union level to fend off unwanted non-EU buyers, were expanded during the COVID-19 pandemic to shield companies deemed as strategic when valuations crashed. Some countries, including Italy, have applied the legislation to the banking sector.
There is now speculation in the Italian media that the government is working on a decree that would bolster the golden powers to give the government more say in UniCredit's unsolicited bid for Banco BPM.
"There is no decree," Giorgetti told reporters in parliament.
UniCredit's swoop on Banco BPM has upset the government as such a deal could scupper Rome's plan to broker a merger between BPM and state-backed Monte dei Paschi di Siena to create a competitor to UniCredit and Intesa Sanpaolo.
Giorgetti said the government was still waiting for UniCredit to disclose full terms of its proposed takeover.
"We are waiting for them to notify the operation," he said.
Golden powers require Italian government approval for any decision, act or transaction involving a company owning strategic assets which result in changes in the ownership, control or availability of such assets, including merger deals.
But in practice Rome has limited scope to intervene, as European Union treaties promote free movement of capital in the bloc, sources previously told Reuters.
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's government could ask for guarantees on bank branches to ensure services to customers and preserve jobs.
European Union authorities are currently reviewing rules covering the golden powers and Rome is keen to understand how they will eventually change, a government official said on Wednesday, asking not to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter.
(Reporting by Giuseppe Fonte, editing by Gianluca Semeraro and Jane Merriman)
The Italian government has no plans to strengthen its golden power legislation regarding the financial sector, according to Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti.
Golden power rules are intended to allow the government to intervene in mergers and takeovers involving companies with strategic assets, particularly to fend off unwanted non-EU buyers.
The government's concern stems from the potential disruption of its plans to facilitate a merger between Banco BPM and state-backed Monte dei Paschi di Siena, which aims to create a stronger competitor against UniCredit.
The Italian government is awaiting UniCredit to disclose the full terms of its proposed takeover of Banco BPM, as stated by Minister Giorgetti.
EU treaties promote the free movement of capital, which limits the Italian government's scope to intervene in financial transactions, even with the golden power rules in place.
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