It is likely that UniCredit will withdraw its share-swap offer for Banco BPM.
This was stated by CEO Andrea Orcel in an interview with la Repubblica.
"We have done and continue to do everything possible, but if we are unable to resolve the issues, as is likely, we will withdraw," Orcel said, referring to the contested government conditions for the deal's approval, which received the green light from the EU antitrust authority yesterday.
Regarding accusations that UniCredit continues to operate in Russia despite sanctions--and the subsequent request from Rome for a complete exit from the country--Orcel responded by saying the bank has done "more than what the ECB asked of us" and that "no other bank has reduced its activities as much as we have."
Orcel added that "no acceptable buyer [for these activities] has yet come forward for either the Russians or the West, with the necessary means," explaining that the bank has set aside part of its excess capital "(69 basis points) to cover losses in the event of nationalization."
In the interview, Orcel also said that UniCredit remains, for now, an investor in Commerzbank, closely following the German bank's transformation process.
The UniCredit CEO further explained that the bank attempted to participate in the placement of a Treasury stake in MPS organized by Banca Akros, which is now under judicial investigation.
"We tried to participate but were unable to. We reported the facts to Consob," he said, adding that Anima acquired a stake in MPS while it was under the passivity rule as a target of Banco BPM, and that the latter acquired the MPS stake in a placement managed by its subsidiary Banca Akros.
(Reporting by Stefano Bernabei, editing by Antonella Cinelli)
