Italy’s Sondrio Vows Payouts as It Seeks to Fend Off BPER Bid

In This Article:

BPSO.MI

-1.37%

BPXXY

-4.62%

(Bloomberg) -- Banca Popolare di Sondrio SpA said it plans to return about €1.5 billion ($1.6 billion) to shareholders by 2027, as the Italian lender seeks to defend against a takeover bid from rival BPER Banca SpA.

Most Read from Bloomberg

The bank will boost its annual payout ratio to 85% through 2027, doubling the dividend distribution of the previous three-year plan, it said in a statement on Wednesday. Popolare Sondrio is targeting about €1.8 billion in cumulative net profit in the 2026-2027 period.

Chief Executive Officer Mario Alberto Pedranzini is focusing on wealth management and insurance products to increase profitability as the Sondrio, Italy based lender seeks to remain an independent bank. Last month BPER launched a €4.3 billion all-stock takeover bid for Popolare Sondrio, which was rejected as too low.

Insurance firm Unipol Gruppo SpA is the biggest shareholder in BPER and Popolare Sondrio, with a stake of about 20% in each. Analysts have seen these holdings as a possible way to create a larger merged lender by merging them, adding to the current round of consolidation in Italy’s banking sector.

Italy’s banking sector is experiencing a high level of M&A activity which kicked off in early November when lender Banco BPM SpA launched a bid for asset manager Anima Holding SpA, only to become a target itself a few weeks later when rival UniCredit SpA made an offer. Yet another lender, Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA, subsequently proposed to buy competitor Mediobanca SpA.

Read More on targets: Popolare Sondrio Boosts Annual Payout to 85% in 2026-2027 Plan

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

©2026 Bloomberg L.P.