Advertisement
Singapore markets closed
  • Straits Times Index

    3,224.01
    -27.70 (-0.85%)
     
  • S&P 500

    5,248.49
    +44.91 (+0.86%)
     
  • Dow

    39,760.08
    +477.75 (+1.22%)
     
  • Nasdaq

    16,399.52
    +83.82 (+0.51%)
     
  • Bitcoin USD

    70,400.50
    +330.82 (+0.47%)
     
  • CMC Crypto 200

    885.54
    0.00 (0.00%)
     
  • FTSE 100

    7,955.62
    +23.64 (+0.30%)
     
  • Gold

    2,228.30
    +15.60 (+0.71%)
     
  • Crude Oil

    82.73
    +1.38 (+1.70%)
     
  • 10-Yr Bond

    4.2180
    +0.0220 (+0.52%)
     
  • Nikkei

    40,168.07
    -594.66 (-1.46%)
     
  • Hang Seng

    16,541.42
    +148.58 (+0.91%)
     
  • FTSE Bursa Malaysia

    1,530.60
    -7.82 (-0.51%)
     
  • Jakarta Composite Index

    7,288.81
    -21.28 (-0.29%)
     
  • PSE Index

    6,903.53
    +5.36 (+0.08%)
     

Intesa CEO says it makes sense to combine insurers and banks

Carlo Messina, Chief Executive Officer of Intesa Sanpaolo bank, gestures as he speaks at the foreign press headquarters in Rome, Italy November 27, 2015. REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi

By Gianni Montani

TURIN, Italy (Reuters) - The head of Intesa Sanpaolo (ISP.MI) said on Thursday he saw potential for growth by combining banks with insurers but the Italian lender would take its time to assess possible options.

Intesa said on Tuesday its management was examining possible "industrial combinations" with Assicurazioni Generali (GASI.MI), after sources told Reuters the bank was mulling a share offer to take a majority stake in Italy's biggest insurer.

Speaking on the sidelines of an event in Turin, Intesa Sanpaolo CEO Carlo Messina told reporters it made sense to integrate insurers into a banking network.

ADVERTISEMENT

"There is room to grow in this sector," he said. "Provided any transaction does not weaken our capital strength and our ability to reward shareholders, we feel free to look at possible growth options."

Daily La Stampa reported at the weekend that Intesa was considering a bid for Generali, worth 24 billion euros (20 billion pounds) at Thursday's closing price.

Messina said the leak concerned a wider strategic exercise he was conducting which could have different possible outcomes.

"We're analysing various alternatives, it'll depend on the price. We'll take our time to make our assessment, we're in a position of strength," he said.

Earlier on Thursday Messina said an Intesa board meeting on Friday would not discuss a possible move on Generali.

"Absolutely not," he said.

Senior investment bankers in Italy expect Intesa to go ahead with a bid for Generali despite the complexity of such a deal.

A source familiar with the matter said a possible offer was expected to be all in shares without any cash component.

A change at the helm of Generali a year ago and the perceived instability of its share register, combined with political weakness in Rome where the 186-year-old company is seen as a strategic asset, have all encouraged bid talk.

Other rumoured suitors include France's AXA (AXAF.PA) and Germany's Allianz (ALVG.DE). Generali chief executive Philippe Donnet, hired last year, was formerly an executive of AXA.

More than 100 Italian senators - many from the ruling Democratic Party - have tabled a question in parliament asking the government what steps it plans to take to protect insurer Generali from any foreign takeover.

A Treasury source said on Thursday the government could not take a stance over a possible tie-up between Intesa SanPaolo and Generali because the state owned no shares in either company.

(Additional reporting by Silvia Aloisi, Paola Arosio, Gianluca Semeraro; Writing by Valentina Za; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle)