Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on January 11, 2026
2 min readLast updated: January 20, 2026
ECB is set to conditionally approve Credit Agricole's stake increase in Banco BPM, impacting governance and potential future mergers.
ROME, Jan 11 (Reuters) - The European Central Bank (ECB) is close to clearing, with conditions, a request by France's Credit Agricole to raise its stake in Italy's Banco BPM, several Italian media reported on Sunday.
Credit Agricole is a long-standing BPM commercial partner and the single largest shareholder in the Italian lender, with a stake of just above 20%.
The conditions set by the ECB will regard the governance, Ansa news agency reported, with the French group having to limit its representatives in Banco BPM's board to seven members, to avoid a "de facto takeover" and avoid conflicts of interest.
Credit Agricole has been working with Deutsche Bank and Rothschild on a potential merger of its Italian arm with Banco BPM, Reuters reported in September.
The Italian lender is weighing options after a failed takeover attempt by larger rival UniCredit.
After receiving the ECB's approval, Credit Agricole will raise its stake in two steps, initially to 24.9% and then to 29.9%, Italian daily Corriere della Sera reported. It said both moves would be completed by April, when the Italian lender is scheduled to approve its 2025 results and is set to nominate a new board.
Banco BPM declined to comment. The ECB and Credit Agricole did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
(Reporting by Giulia Segreti and Valentina ZaEditing by Tomasz Janowski)
Equity refers to the ownership interest in a company, represented by shares of stock. It signifies the value of an owner's stake in the business.
Corporate governance involves the systems and processes that direct and control a company. It encompasses the relationships among stakeholders and the goals for which the corporation is governed.
Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are transactions where two companies combine (merger) or one company purchases another (acquisition) to enhance growth, market share, or operational efficiency.
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