The European Commission has given conditional approval to UniCredit's takeover offer for Banco BPM, requiring the sale of 209 branches to prevent excessive market concentration in Italy.
"Following the positive feedback received during the market test, the Commission has concluded that the transaction, as modified by the commitments, would no longer raise concerns in the retail consumer and SME deposit and lending markets," the Commission said in a statement.
The Commission's investigation revealed overlaps in the activities and branches of the two banks in 181 areas, raising concerns about excessive market power and reduced competition.
No issues were identified, however, in the 'large corporate clients' (LCC) segment at the regional level.
(Reporting by Andrea Mandalà, editing by Antonella Cinelli)
