Banco Popolare CEO says important progress made in merger talks
Banco Popolare CEO Pierfrancesco Saviotti has said that important progress has been made in merger talks with another lender, Italian language daily Il Messaggero reported. The report cited Saviotti as saying that he was optimistic of a positive outcome.
While Saviotti did not name BPM, there was no doubt that this was the lender in question. The report, without citing sources, said that progress had been made on the delegation of powers in the merged entity.
The report said that the two sides are now focusing on technical, legal and regulatory issues. Saviotti is likely to travel to Frankfurt with BPM CEO Giuseppe Castagana in the next few hours to meet with representatives of the European Central Bank to lay out their merger plans.
The report said that the merged entity will have assets of EUR 173bn.
Il Messaggero