Italy ready to intervene on changes to ownership base of its insurance companies

By Giuseppe Fonte

ROME, July 2 (Reuters) - Italy is ready to intervene on changes to the ownership structure of its insurance companies to make sure its economy and citizens benefit from savings allocation decisions, Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti said on Thursday.

The remarks appear as a warning shot over the future of the country's top insurer Generali, caught in the crossfire from takeover moves in the financial sector, and long seen as strategic, given its role in managing hundreds of billions ​of euros of Italians' savings.

"The government will play its part [...] by not remaining indifferent, if needed, to changes in ownership structures," Giorgetti said addressing the annual meeting of ANIA, Italy's main insurance and reinsurance trade organisation.

Earlier, Giorgetti had emphasised that savings collected by insurers could be invested to boost Italian competitiveness, employment and growth.

Italy's biggest bank Intesa Sanpaolo is set to become the largest investor in Generali through its proposed €30 billion acquisition of Monte dei Paschi di Siena.

The government is keen for Generali to have a stable shareholder base after MPS last year took over Mediobanca, the biggest investor in the insurer with a 13% stake, Reuters reported last month.

The main two MPS investors, Italy's Delfin holding and the Caltagirone group, are also Generali investors with a combined 16.5% stake.

In a source of potential instability, Delfin and ​Caltagirone took opposite sides in ​this year's boardroom clash at ⁠MPS. Delfin is also undergoing an ownership reshuffle which may lead it to review its investment portfolio.

A further question mark arises from UniCredit, which has built a near 9% ​stake saying it is only a financial investment.

Italy has so-called "golden powers" allowing the government to rein in takeover proposals in the financial sector, though the government said it would take a "neutral stance" on Intesa's bid for MPS.

Critics have accused Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's government of intervening too often in business matters.

Generali last year dropped plans drawn up with France's BPCE to create Europe's largest ⁠asset manager ​by combining the businesses of Generali Investments Holding (GIH) and Natixis Investment ​Managers, due to resistance from Italy's government.

Taking part in the same event, Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said insurers could help the government fund major infrastructure projects, making room in the budget to cut taxes.

Giorgetti also criticised insurance companies for reducing their investments in Italian government bonds in 2025.

"This decline stands in contrast to the growing interest we have seen over the same period from both the retail market and foreign investors," the economy minister said.

(Reporting by Giuseppe FonteEditing by Keith Weir)