How Crédit Agricole is on its way to becoming the third Italian banking group

Crédit Agricole intends to play a leading role in the ongoing restructuring of the Italian banking sector.

The French banking giant announced on Monday that it had proposed to Banco BPM (Banco Popolare di Milano), of which it is the largest shareholder, to merge with Crédit Agricole Italia.

This “friendly” marriage proposal would give birth to the third transalpine banking group, behind Intesa Sanpaolo and UniCredit.

It would have 6.5 million customers and more than 2,300 bank branches.

Crédit Agricole, which made Italy its second domestic market, entered the capital of Banco BPM in 2022, and gradually increased its stake, now holding 29.6% of the Milanese bank.

At the end of the operation, it would hold approximately 45% of the new entity.

This rapprochement, surely prepared for a long time, would allow the transalpine establishment to maintain a certain autonomy.

“This project ensures the preservation of the identity and operational autonomy of…