A month ago, the Italian Treasury announced the successful sale of a 15 per cent stake in Monte dei Paschi di Siena — a big step in the reprivatisation of the world’s oldest bank, after a dice with death involving alleged fraud, serial mismanagement and a 2017 government bailout. The transaction, hailed by the government as a big success, cuts the state’s stake to 12 per cent, allowing it to comply with an EU state aid deadline. So far, so straightforward.
His particular perennial obsession is to gain effective control of insurance group Generali, in which he and his allies already own more than a 17 per cent stake. — a power base amplified though a near-30 per cent stake in Mediobanca, combined with the new influence over MPS and BPM, and their multiple cross-shareholdings. Orcel, for his part, is never one to give up on a fight. His response to being sidelined from the MPS transaction was to revive a bid — aborted in 2022 — for BPM.