By Foo Yun Chee and Giuseppe Fonte
BRUSSELS/ROME (Reuters) -The European Commission is set to act against Italy’s so-called “golden power” legislation as part of a push against EU countries hampering bank consolidation in Europe, four sources with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Thursday.
Brussels will launch two separate proceedings under single market and merger rules respectively, they said, asking not to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter.
The move underscores the EU executive’s drive for consolidation in the financial services industry, crucial to creating a European capital union to finance the 27-country bloc’s green and digital goals and boost its competitiveness vis-a-vis the United States and China.
It will also be seen as a warning against Germany and Spain, both of which are involved in contested banking mergers.
Rome’s so-called golden powers are aimed at safeguarding the national interest in strategic sectors such as defence and telecommunications. Italy is one of a number of EU countries which have also applied that legislation to the banking sector.
Italy’s second-biggest bank UniCredit withdrew its offer for smaller rival Banco BPM on July 22, blaming government intervention for scuppering the 15-billion-euro ($17.35 billion) transaction.
Before that, the European Commission had already warned Italy that it could be breaching EU rules by using the golden powers to rein in UniCredit’s takeover plans.
Italy invoked national security considerations for the use of the golden powers in exchanges with Brussels, Reuters previously reported.
Among several conditions, Italy had told UniCredit to halt activities in Russia by early 2026, to prevent savings collected by Banco BPM from benefiting Moscow’s economy as it continues its war against Ukraine. Rome opted to keep the decree in place despite the collapse of the deal.
Brussels believes that golden powers overlap with the powers of the European Commission and the European Central Bank (ECB), restrict competition and violate the principle of bank independence, one of the sources said.
The EU will order Italy to withdraw the decree that set terms for UniCredit’s failed bid, the sources said, while challenging the overall golden power legislation through a separate proceeding.
The EU Commission plans to send two separate letters to Italy by mid-November, the first source added.
Once the EU has ruled that the conditions imposed on UniCredit are unlawful, the bank will be able to assess whether to seek damages from Italy. The government can however challenge the decision before an EU court.
($1 = 0.8644 euros)
(Reporting by Foo Yun Chee in Brussels and Giuseppe Fonte in Rome, additional reporting by Valentina Za in Milan, editing by Gavin Jones and Keith Weir)
