Finance
Banco BPM to double board seats chosen by minority investors, documents show
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on February 2, 2026
2 min readLast updated: February 2, 2026
Global Banking & Finance Review®
Company
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on February 2, 2026
2 min readLast updated: February 2, 2026
Banco BPM plans to double board seats for minority investors, enhancing Credit Agricole's influence. Governance changes await ECB approval.
MILAN, Feb 2 (Reuters) - Banco BPM is set to strengthen the representation that minority shareholders such as France's Credit Agricole can get on the Italian bank's board, by doubling to six the maximum number of seats they can secure, documents showed.
Credit Agricole last month said it had received European Central Bank approval to raise its stake in Banco BPM above 20%, cementing its position as a long-term investor in Italy's third-largest bank.
The proposed governance changes were first reported by Reuters last month and are now confirmed in documents Banco BPM prepared for its February 23 shareholder meeting to approve amended by-laws, ahead of an April vote to renew the board.
The revised bylaws are still subject to approval by the ECB, the documents said.
Currently, the outgoing board appoints up to 12 directors, with minority investors entitled to at least three seats on the 15-strong board.
Under the new setup, minority investors would secure three seats if they win up to one fifth of the votes, and as many as six seats if their capture more than half of the total votes in aggregate.
The outgoing board will file a list of candidates to appoint a majority of directors, including the chief executive and the chairman, based on BPM's by-laws.
CEO Giuseppe Castagna, who has led BPM since the bank was formed in January 2017 from the merger of two regional lenders, is expected to be reappointed for another three years.
Credit Agricole, which first invested in BPM in 2022 to protect commercial partnerships, is seeking stronger board representation after increasing its stake, sources have previously told Reuters.
(Reporting by Andrea Mandalà; Editing by Valentina Za)
Corporate governance refers to the systems and processes that direct and control a company, ensuring accountability and transparency in its operations.
Equity investment involves purchasing shares of a company, providing capital in exchange for ownership and a claim on future profits.
The European Central Bank (ECB) is the central bank for the euro and administers monetary policy within the Eurozone to maintain price stability.
Minority investors are shareholders who own less than 50% of a company's shares, and thus have limited control over corporate decisions.
Investment management is the professional management of various securities and assets to meet specified investment goals for clients.
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