Banco BPM to double board seats chosen by minority investors, documents show

Banco BPM to double board seats chosen by minority investors, documents show

Governance Changes at Banco BPM

MILAN, Feb 2 (Reuters) - Banco BPM is set to strengthen the representation that minority shareholders such as France's Credit Agricole can get on the Italian bank's board, by doubling to six the maximum number of seats they can secure, documents showed.

Details of the Proposed Changes

Credit Agricole last month said it had received European Central Bank approval to raise its stake in Banco BPM above 20%, cementing its position as a long-term investor in Italy's third-largest bank.

Impact on Minority Investors

The proposed governance changes were first reported by Reuters last month and are now confirmed in documents Banco BPM prepared for its February 23 shareholder meeting to approve amended by-laws, ahead of an April vote to renew the board.

Role of Credit Agricole

The revised bylaws are still subject to approval by the ECB, the documents said.

Currently, the outgoing board appoints up to 12 directors, with minority investors entitled to at least three seats on the 15-strong board.

Under the new setup, minority investors would secure three seats if they win up to one fifth of the votes, and as many as six seats if their capture more than half of the total votes in aggregate.

The outgoing board will file a list of candidates to appoint a majority of directors, including the chief executive and the chairman, based on BPM's by-laws.

CEO Giuseppe Castagna, who has led BPM since the bank was formed in January 2017 from the merger of two regional lenders, is expected to be reappointed for another three years.

Credit Agricole, which first invested in BPM in 2022 to protect commercial partnerships, is seeking stronger board representation after increasing its stake, sources have previously told Reuters.

(Reporting by Andrea Mandalà; Editing by Valentina Za)