Italy looks like fertile ground for a mega merger deal in banking

Key Points

“If you assess individual banks in Italy, it’s difficult not to believe that something will happen, I would say, over the next 12 months or so,” Antonio Reale, co-head of European banks at Bank of America, told CNBC.
Speaking in March, Italy’s Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti said “there is a specific commitment” with the European Commission on the divestment of the government stake on BMPS.
Paola Sabbione, an analyst at Barclays, believes there would be a high bar for Italian banking M&A if it does occur.

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