The ongoing discussions between Banca Intesa and its main shareholder, Credit Agricole, preliminary to the Intesa-Sanpaolo IMI merger, are beginning to bear fruit. The leaders of the Green Bank will indeed meet today with their counterparts of Cariparma Foundation, to discuss the fate of the Bank Cariparma, the Fund of saving of Parma and Piacenza, 100 owned by Banca Intesa, but on the future of which the Foundation has a right of scrutiny. "We will start talking about assets and the Organization of the future Cariparma, which interested the Crédit Agricole", thus entrusted yesterday the President of the Foundation Cariparma, Carlo Gabbi.
At the headquarters of Credit Agricole SA, were yesterday refused to comment. Nevertheless, this meeting confirmed that parmesan could actually go in the back of the Green Bank ("Les Echos" from September 22) under an agreement between the two banking groups. It is also testimony to the approach of the date deadline in early October, a solution began to emerge to dampen the links between the two partners.
While for Intesa, the priority is to clear the way to his project of reconciliation, Credit Agricole seeks counterparties while ensuring its presence in the peninsula by the acquisition of a network of agencies of good quality and to control 2-3 of the local banking market, or 600 agencies in total. The employees smics of Cariparma and 307 agencies have identified an operating income of EUR 400 million in 2005 to a net income of EUR 143 million.
Doubling of the network
If it is too early to discuss the scheme that could adopt the parties to organize the sale of Cariparma Credit Agricole, several assumptions appear to be on the table. Would one of them, mentioned yesterday by the Italian Agency Ansa, pass by a doubling of the number of agencies of Cariparma before its transfer to the Crédit Agricole; 300 additional agencies owned by Banca Intesa would be made. In this way, the Italian group would double shot: it gained access to the request of the French, while resolving the thorny question of competition in retail banking, with its merger with Sanpaolo. A similar project would be, according to the Ansa in discussion between Sanpaolo and its Spanish Santander shareholder.
Remains to know how the Green Bank would fund such repurchase, where the value exceeds, according to some, the 6 billion euros, while French has a currency of Exchange with its 16.8 stake in Banca Intesa. Rest mainly in the immediate future to agree with the Foundation Cariparma, also shareholder of Intesa around 4.3. It would indeed get a minority stake in the Caisse d'Epargne de Parma. "This is not shocking to the Crédit Agricole within certain limits", considers a close to the record. In addition, the Green Bank and the Foundation may sign a Pact guaranteeing to the maintenance of the headquarters and instances of facility management in its area of origin. All subjects which will be debated today.
At the same time, the two groups will have to decide the fate of their partnerships in the consumer credit and, especially, in asset management. The specialized subsidiary of Intesa, Nextra, is owned by Credit Agricole SA since December to 65.
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