Banco BPM proposes merger with MPS

On 7 June 2026 Banco BPM (BAMIm) announced that its board had unanimously approved sending a formal proposal to Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena to open talks on an agreed aggregation. The bank described the initiative as a merger of equals and said it had formally communicated the plan to Monte dei Paschi, seeking to begin a structured dialogue with its counterpart’s management.

Banco BPM stated that the proposed combination is intended to preserve the identity, brands and territorial roots of both institutions. The lender highlighted the historic offices and local ties of the two banks as elements it aims to maintain within the envisaged structure of the merged group.

In outlining the rationale for the deal, Banco BPM estimated that the merged group would have a market capitalisation in excess of €50 billion. The bank projected a pro‑forma Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) ratio of about 15% for the combined entity, indicating the level of capital strength it expects following the aggregation.

Banco BPM also forecast that the transaction would deliver earnings-per-share growth of more than 10%. At steady state, the merged group’s net profit was estimated at roughly €6 billion, according to the projections released by Banco BPM alongside its proposal.

Banco BPM quantified expected gross annual synergies from the merger at more than €1.1 billion. This figure includes over €650 million in cost savings and more than €450 million in additional revenues, which the bank said would arise from the integration of the two franchises.

The lender estimated that the operation could generate at least €5.5 billion of shareholder value creation. Integration costs linked to the project were put at about €1.1 billion on a gross basis, reflecting the investments and restructuring required to combine the two institutions.

Banco BPM said it is being assisted on the proposal by Citigroup (C) and Goldman Sachs (GS) as financial advisers and by the law firm Legance for legal matters. The bank emphasised its wish to move quickly to a structured negotiation phase with Monte dei Paschi’s management once the proposal is examined.

According to reporting cited by Banco BPM, Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena did not provide an immediate comment following receipt of the proposal. The Siena-based bank is expected to convene its board to evaluate the approach and consider its response to the merger-of-equals plan outlined by Banco BPM.