Sonia Sirletti

Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA’s profit in the first quarter beat expectations, giving tailwind to Chief Executive Officer Luigi Lovaglio and his effort to integrate Mediobanca SpA.

UniCredit SpA is arranging two significant risk transfers tied to over €3 billion ($3.5 billion) of company loans for two Spanish lenders as well as nearing completion of a similar deal at its own German unit.

Commerzbank AG urged its investors to spurn UniCredit SpA’s acquisition bid as it doesn’t offer a good enough price, further ratcheting up tensions in the 19-months takeover saga.

UniCredit SpA will skip Commerzbank AG’s annual general meeting, according to people familiar with the matter, effectively removing the German lender’s biggest critic, largest shareholder and potential buyer from its most important investor event.

UniCredit wird der Hauptversammlung der Commerzbank fernbleiben, wie Bloomberg von mit der Angelegenheit vertrauten Personen erfahren hat. Damit fehlt dem wichtigsten Investorentreffen der Frankfurter Bank zugleich ihr größter Kritiker, größter Aktionär und potenzieller Käufer.

Italy’s state lender Cassa Depositi e Prestiti SpA plans to raise its stake in Nexi SpA to as much as 29.9%, backing the Italian digital payment company’s long-term strategy.

Banks in Croatia face potential hits if the country’s Supreme Court sides with borrowers of Swiss-franc loans in a decade-long legal dispute.

European Central Bank Governing Council member Fabio Panetta acknowledged the case for an interest-rate hike while urging colleagues not to flag subsequent tightening.

UniCredit hat sich nach Angaben mit der Angelegenheit vertrauter Personen Zusagen gesichert, die den Anteil der Mailänder Bank an der Commerzbank deutlich über 30% steigen lassen werden. Damit gewinnt das Übernahmeangebot über 38,6 Milliarden Euro für den Frankfurter Rivalen an Dynamik.

UniCredit SpA’s €38.6 billion ($45 billion) takeover offer for Commerzbank AG has been accepted by enough investors to push the stake over 30% once it takes ownership of the shares.