Unicredit-Mps: the marriage attempted by Mustier
Unicredit's initiative towards Monte dei Paschi was not started for the first time by Andrea Orcel, that evening of Thursday 29 July 2021, when it began negotiations with the Treasury. This information was revealed by Il Messaggero. The Roman banker found the Sienese dossier on his table three months earlier, evidently, inside a white folder together with an email dated 21 July 2020, at 10.38. His predecessor, Jean Pierre Mustier, wrote to Andrea Enria, president of the ECB Supervisory Council, and in copy to three senior executives (Stefan Walter, Rulf Klug, Thomas Broeng). Mustier communicated that he had just received a call from Alessandro Rivera (former director general of the Treasury) who asked him if Unicredit was interested in Monte dei Paschi, adding the possibility of making interesting offers. Mustier explained to Enria that he had replied that they would be willing to consider a negotiation only if he could satisfy certain conditions to maintain capital stable after restructuring costs.
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THEThe French banker indicated the need for Amco to acquire all Unicredit's non-performing loans (NPLs) at current value; the transformation of deferred tax assets on tax losses into tax credits (DTA) for 3.1 billion; and the agreement by both parties that the DTAs would be fully allocated to Unicredit spa in the event of a spin-off of the international activities. This step formally confirmed that Mustier aimed to split Unicredit in two, creating another bank based in Frankfurt, a project that cost Mustier his resignation from the board of directors in November 2020. Mustier asked for a total guarantee on the 5 billion in legal disputes. After the summer, the dialogue with the Ministry of Economy would continue slowly due to the tensions created by the bank's division plan, which led to its no-confidence vote in November, despite Rivera having tried to push Cesare Bisoni and Pier Carlo Padoan to advance the negotiations. Orcel, who assumed the position in April 2021, was then urged to resume negotiations right from the first board meetings.
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