Deep Read: Showdown in the Italian banking poker – Intesa Sanpaolo reaches for the oldest bank in the world
The battle for Monte dei Paschi is the culmination of a wave of bank consolidation in Italy. According to experts, it is a harbinger of what will soon hit all of Europe.
On Thursday morning, the future of Italy's banking sector hangs in the balance in Siena. At ten in the morning, the annual general meeting of Monte dei Paschi di Siena (MPS), the country's oldest bank, will be held. Shareholders will decide on the defense strategy of MPS CEO Luigi Lovaglio. To prevent a takeover by Italy's largest bank, Intesa Sanpaolo, Lovaglio proposed in August that MPS take over two banks: Banco BPM and Banca Generali.
However, it is expected that MPS investors will unanimously reject this plan on Thursday, as indicated by statements from major investors in advance. This would clear the way for Intesa to incorporate not only the oldest bank in the world, according to its own claims, but also the Milanese investment bank Mediobanca, which MPS acquired in September 2025.
With a value of around 31.4 billion euros in cash and shares, it would be one of the largest takeovers in Italian banking history. It would mark the peak of the ongoing reorganization of the country's financial scene, which has been in progress for years: Intesa would establish itself as the largest bank in the country, focusing on domestic business, and advance the consolidation of the sector with this complex operation.
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