Soc Horror

4 June 2018 By Christopher Thompson, Lisa Jucca Follow @CGAThompson

The country’s largest lender has debated merging with French rival Société Générale for over a decade. Past talks foundered on executive egos. Italy’s radical government – and fresh jitters over its sovereign debt – are likely to scupper any attempt to revive the combination.

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UniCredit, Italy's biggest bank by assets, is mulling a merger with France's Société Générale in what would be the biggest cross-border bank combination since the financial crisis, the Financial Times reported on June 3

UniCredit's French Chief Executive Jean Pierre Mustier, a former head of SocGen's investment banking unit, has been developing the idea for several months now, the FT said, citing unnamed sources.

Although no formal approach has been made, SocGen directors have also been exploring the possibility of a combination, according to the newspaper.

SocGen denied "any board discussion regarding a potential merger with UniCredit", according to an emailed statement.

UniCredit declined to comment on the FT report, according to Reuters. However, the bank said its “Transform 2019” turnaround plan is based on "organic assumptions".

UniCredit shares were up 1 percent at 14.82 euros by 0930 GMT on June 4. SocGen shares were up 2.5 percent at 38.46 euros.

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