Unicredit, to Orcel: “window for merger with Mps is closed”

The window of opportunity for a possible merger between Unicredit and some Mps activities “has closed, for the moment it is closed”. This was stated by the CEO of Unicredit, Andrea Orcel, who in a conference call with financial analysts spoke of the halt to negotiations with the Ministry of Economy to take over parts of the Sienese bank. One of the conditions of the negotiation on Monte dei Paschi di Siena, the manager recalled, “was that an agreement could be quickly signed in the mutual interest. In our agenda we have a certain number of initiatives underway and, if we could sign an agreement quickly , we could have implemented those initiatives on the group born of integration “. Now, “we need to be 100% focused on our initiatives. Timing is everything and we have completely returned our focus to stand-alone strategy,” he added. Mps, therefore, “will not be part of our future strategy”. Orcel did not want to comment on the future of Mps, but “as an Italian and as a group that has significant activities in Italy, I hope that a positive solution is found, because it is in everyone’s interest”. The CEO of Unicredit reiterated his line on mergers and acquisitions: “They are not a goal in themselves, but they can be an accelerator and a factor in improving our strategic objectives, but under the right conditions, they increase the value”. Next therefore with the bank’s stand-alone strategy. “The greatest value we can create is organic and this has been, and remains, our unwavering goal.” And on the dividend front, Orcel said, Unicredit “has a solid position of capital and one of my priorities is to return attractive levels of capital to shareholders while maintaining adequate reserves. ” In terms of the accounts presented today, the bank’s underlying net profit in the third quarter was € 1.1 billion, up 0.5% on the previous quarter, and € 3.1 billion in the first nine months. The group also raised its 2021 guidance, with total revenues to 17.5 billion and underlying net profit to 3.7 billion.