Silvia Amaro

MILAN, Italy — European policymakers have longed for bigger banks across the continent. And Italy might be about to give them their wish with a bumper round of M&A, according to analysts.

ZURICH, Switzerland ꟷ UBS CEO Sergio Ermotti said Wednesday that market volatility could intensify in the second half of the year, but he does not believe the U.S. is heading into a recession.

UBS's CEO Sergio Ermotti discusses the latest market volatility, but does not believe the U.S. economy is heading to a recession

Key Points After an intense weekend of negotiations in March 2023, UBS agreed to buy its embattled rival Credit Suisse. But not everyone was convinced it was a good idea.

“Whoever wins will be ‘America first',” a senior European diplomat, who did not want to be named due to the sensitive nature of the transatlantic relationship, told CNBC.

European diplomats and their respective leaders have been preparing for the eventuality of a Trump victory for more than 12 months.

U.K. Chancellor Rachel Reeves travelled to Brussels on Monday to convene with her EU counterparts in the first such encounter since Britain left the European Union.

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on Friday told the European Union it must reduce its trade gap with the U.S. through oil and gas purchases or face tariffs.

Germany's stock market is massively outperforming its European peers this year and moving in lockstep with U.S. equities.