Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on February 11, 2025
1 min readLast updated: January 26, 2026
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The German embassy in Italy discusses the Italian banking sector's M&A activities with Fabi, focusing on UniCredit's stake in Commerzbank.
MILAN (Reuters) - The German embassy in Italy on Tuesday asked the country's main banking union Fabi to explain the takeover battles rocking the sector, the union said.
During a meeting in Rome requested by the embassy, Fabi chief Lando Maria Sileoni and the embassy's financial affairs advisor Benedikt Grodau discussed ongoing deals, banking regulation, the unions' role and political implications, Fabi said in a statement.
Germany is closely monitoring the rapidly changing Italian financial sector and its cross-border implications, Fabi said.
Current M&A activity Italian banking includes UniCredit and Monte dei Paschi di Siena bidding respectively for Banco BPM and Mediobanca.
In a move that angered the German government, last year UniCredit disclosed it had snapped un a hefty stake in Commerzbank and began pressing for a tie-up.
The Italian bank's bid for Commerzbank was among the issues discussed at Tuesday's embassy meeting, a source who attended the gathering said, without giving details.
UniCredit is awaiting European Central Bank approval for the 28% stake it has built in the German lender, for the most part using derivatives.
(Reporting by Andrea Mandala, editing by Gavin Jones)
The main topic is the German embassy's inquiry into Italian banking M&A activities, particularly involving UniCredit.
What are the political implications of the Italian banking M&A activities?
How is the German government reacting to UniCredit's stake in Commerzbank?
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