Sonia Sirletti

Credit Agricole SA Chief Executive Officer Olivier Gavalda said the firm rejected Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA’s bid for Banco BPM SpA.

Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA has called an extraordinary board meeting for Monday to review the M&A situation following Intesa Sanpaolo SpA’s increased offer, people familiar with the matter said.

UniCredit SpA is working on a potential deal to hedge €1 billion ($1.1 billion) in German home loans as it prepares to expand its footprint in Europe’s biggest economy.

Premier Giorgia Meloni’s latest budget includes plans to raise €10.7 billion ($12 billion) from Italy’s financial sector over the next three years.

Axa SA expects to lose its distribution partnership with Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA next year, potentially putting the insurer on the losing side of the deals wave washing across Italian finance.

Goldstone Capital Limited, a shareholder in Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA backed by Qatari investors, said it supports Intesa Sanpaolo SpA’s takeover bid for the Tuscan lender, emerging as the latest investor to support the deal.

An Italian parliamentary commission has alleged that a former Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA chairman instigated an attempt to intimidate the bank’s communications chief before his death — a dramatic turn in a mystery that has endured since he fell from his office window 13 years ago.

Intesa Sanpaolo SpA is working on significant risk transfers to hedge more than €5 billion ($6 billion) in assets, signaling continued demand for the higher-risk instruments despite concerns in markets about debt and geopolitical tensions.

Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA Chief Executive Officer Luigi Lovaglio is facing almost certain defeat and perhaps even a crushing one at an upcoming investor meeting, paving the way for rival Intesa Sanpaolo SpA to take over the bank.

Assicurazioni Generali SpA plans to reduce around 9% of its workforce in Germany and downsize locations as part of a simplification effort in the European country.