Meloni Presses Intesa to Keep Monte dei Paschi Whole in €36bn Bid

Meloni Turns Political Pressure on Intesa's MPS Break-Up Plan

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has publicly stated that Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena should not be dismantled as part of Intesa Sanpaolo's €36 billion unsolicited bid. In an interview with Milano Finanza reported by Reuters, she said the Siena-based lender must be able to preserve its name and identity.

MPS was rescued by the Italian state in 2017 and re-privatised between 2023 and 2024. In June it became the target of Intesa's approach. Meloni said the government does not intend to act as a direct player in the banking sector, but recalled that after inheriting the bank in a very difficult condition, the state restructured it. She now describes the world's oldest bank, deeply rooted in its region, as a valuable asset.

Meloni also said she hopes current market dynamics lead to a stronger, more competitive banking system benefiting households and businesses. Still, she underlined that MPS should not be split up and should not lose its name and identity. The comments matter because Intesa's plan would sell half of MPS's branches, the headquarters in Siena and the bank's brand to Unipol, with those assets then merged into BPER Banca, which Unipol controls. MPS chief executive Luigi Lovaglio said last week that the bank is examining possible defence mechanisms, arguing that dismantling the commercial network would destroy value. MPS shares traded 0.6% higher at €12.014, while Intesa shares rose 0.6% to €6.918.

Why the Unipol-BPER Carve-Out Divides Rome and Siena

Meloni's comments are not a formal veto, but they reveal Rome's political priorities as Italy's largest unsolicited bank deal moves forward. The contested point is not the takeover itself, but how Intesa would restructure MPS after a deal.

Intesa's Carve-Out: Unipol and BPER as the Destination

The disclosed plan would transfer roughly half of MPS's branches, the Siena headquarters and the brand to Unipol, then combine them with BPER Banca. In substance this is a competition remedy: it would avoid Intesa absorbing the full distribution network and would create a larger Unipol-BPER franchise. But for Meloni and MPS management, the transfer of the name and headquarters is exactly the dismantling they want to prevent, because it would detach the historic Siena identity from the surviving bank.

CEO Lovaglio's claim that breaking up the commercial network would destroy value adds a corporate defence argument to what might otherwise look like a purely political or symbolic objection. If he can demonstrate that branch-level revenue, local customer relationships and the brand carry more value as an intact whole, the board gains a stronger case for rejecting or renegotiating the structure.

Rome's Original Banking Ambition: The Third Pillar

Since the state rescue, Italian governments have framed MPS privatisation as a way to create a third large banking group alongside Intesa Sanpaolo and UniCredit. Meloni insists the state no longer wants to be a direct player, but her opposition to a break-up aligns with that earlier objective: keeping MPS branded and intact is the most visible way to preserve a potential national challenger. The risk for the government is that political signalling alone, without a formal shareholder or regulatory tool, may not be enough to change the commercial logic of the bid.

UniCredit-Commerzbank: A Parallel Message

Meloni also said UniCredit, already present in Germany through HVB, must retain strong Italian roots as it pursues its Commerzbank operation, and she expressed hope for a positive dialogue between Andrea Orcel's institution and German authorities. The statement suggests a consistent Italian government line: domestic banking identity matters, whether the deal is an Italian bank absorbing an Italian rival or an Italian group expanding abroad. It may also be intended as a message to European regulators that Rome will not stay silent on cross-border banking consolidation.

Next Decision Points in the €36bn MPS-Intesa Contest

For the named parties, the next phase will turn on whether political statements harden into formal positions.

• MPS board and management: The benchmark is now Lovaglio's stated defence review. To make it credible, the board would need to publish its own valuation of the commercial network and specify why the half-branch carve-out to Unipol-BPER destroys value, rather than simply rejecting the €36bn bid on principle.
• Intesa Sanpaolo: Expect political and local scrutiny of the planned sale of the Siena headquarters, brand and branch network. The bid's path becomes easier only if Intesa can show employment, brand and competition safeguards that directly answer Meloni's preservation demand.
• Unipol and BPER Banca: If the carve-out survives, they would absorb roughly half of MPS's distribution force and the historic brand. Their integration plan needs to demonstrate that a break-up would strengthen, not dilute, the competing franchise.
• Investors: The decisive next signal is MPS's formal response to the unsolicited bid. The reported share moves — MPS up 0.6% to €12.014, Intesa up 0.6% to €6.918 — suggest the market is waiting for the board's next step rather than treating the political statement as a deal-changer.