Today’s need-to-know storiesMPS bids for Banca Generali and Banco BPM to fend off Intesa

Monte dei Paschi di Siena has launched takeover bids for Banca Generali and Banco BPM as it seeks to fend off Intesa Sanpaolo’s €36bn hostile approach and create Italy’s third-largest banking group.

MPS on Friday offered almost €8.7bn for Banca Generali in an all-share deal, representing a 10 per cent premium to its Wednesday closing price. It simultaneously launched an offer for Banco BPM, which has a market value of more than €25bn.

If successful, the bids could bring together banks with a combined market value of €70bn, even as MPS continues to integrate Mediobanca following its takeover last year.

MPS also plans to distribute €1bn in cash and €3bn of Generali shares to its existing shareholders.

According to the FT, chief executive Luigi Lovaglio faces significant obstacles. Talks over a merger of equals with Banco BPM collapsed last month after opposition from its largest shareholder Crédit Agricole, whose deputy chief executive Jérôme Grivet warned: “Nothing can happen against us or without us.”

“The offers are designed to create a newly elevated national champion with distinctive capabilities across banking, advisory and wealth management,” MPS said in a statement.

HSBC makes largest senior banker cuts since financial crisis

HSBC spent $67.5mn on severance for 134 of its most senior employees last year as chief executive Georges Elhedery pushed ahead with a sweeping restructuring of the group.

According to an FT analysis of regulatory filings and company accounts, the job cuts included around 10 per cent of HSBC’s so-called material risk-takers and represented the lender’s largest annual cull of senior risk-taking staff since the financial crisis.

The cuts coincided with HSBC’s decision to close its mergers and acquisitions and equity capital markets advisory businesses in the US, UK and Europe. However, a person close to the bank told the newspaper that the cuts formed part of a “broader trend” across HSBC rather than being confined to investment banking.

Other European lenders also depleted their senior ranks in 2025. Santander shed 49 material risk takers, Deutsche Bank 48, BNP Paribas 39 and Barclays 32, contributing to the largest industry-wide reduction since 2020.

Four ex-Commerzbank employees charged for tax evasion scheme

German prosecutors have charged four former Commerzbank employees over alleged serious tax evasion linked to so-called “cum-ex trading” in 2008.

Prosecutors in Frankfurt said the case involved two British citizens, one German and one American, aged between 59 and 66.

A Reuters report, citing two people familiar with the matter, identified the four defendants as former Commerzbank employees.

Cum-ex trading involved rapidly exchanging shares around dividend payment dates, obscuring ownership and enabling multiple parties to reclaim tax on the same dividend. Authorities allege the transactions at the centre of the case deprived the German state of Hesse of €20mn in tax revenue.

“The defendants are alleged to have developed, approved and executed the so-called cum-ex transactions through deliberate and intentional collaboration,” prosecutors said.

Commerzbank said it does not comment on legal proceedings involving third parties and added that it is not itself party to the case.

JPMorgan unit banned for alleged Indian market manipulation

India’s securities regulator has issued an order banning JPMorgan unit Copthall Mauritius Investment from trading on the local stock exchange for alleged market manipulation.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India issued the order within six days of the alleged manipulation of the country’s new closing auction for stock prices.

SEBI also took action against local firm Mansi Share and Stock Broking, and impounded a total of Rs37mn ($386,500) of what it called wrongful gains from the two institutions. They will be readmitted once the sums have been repaid.

The order was issued by SEBI board member Kamlesh Chandra Varshney and alleged that Copthall and Mansi Share had executed manipulative trades during the closing auction window to influence the price of the BSE Sensex Index and improve their options positions on the benchmark.

The Closing Auction Session, introduced by SEBI on August 3, is a daily 20-minute window beginning at 3.15pm Indian Standard Time that determines the official closing price of stocks. The mechanism follows the global standard used by other exchanges, including in New York and Hong Kong.

Goldman Sachs resumes underwriting Indian government deals

Goldman Sachs has resumed underwriting Indian government deals for the first time since 2022.

The US bank has been credited as an adviser for five of the 10 major transactions since the latest wave of divestment started in December, according to Bloomberg. Deals the bank has been involved with include the Life Insurance Corp of India’s sale worth $3.3bn, which was the country’s biggest secondary offering through the stock exchange.

While other international banks including Citigroup and BNP Paribas have sought to gain market share, Goldman has been the most successful, coming only second to Kotak Mahindra Bank for initial and second offerings so far this year, according to Bloomberg data. The bank has pushed ahead of domestic banks including ICICI Bank and Axis Bank.

The push into the Indian market comes as the government is undertaking a significant divestment programme, raising Rs527bn ($5.5bn) from share sales since the start of the year, with a target of Rs800bn for the financial year ending March 2027.

National Australia Bank cuts corporate division roles

National Australia Bank is cutting jobs in its corporate and institutional division as it seeks to combine some roles.

The bank is looking to simplify the workforce by combining origination and sales roles that cover customer relationships, loan syndication, underwriting and debt capital markets, according to Bloomberg.

It is not known how many positions will be cut, and it is understood there will be some new roles created. The bank currently employs 41,000 staff.

“Our workforce is continually evolving to deliver simpler, faster and more consistent experiences for customers, and we are investing in the capabilities and skills needed for the future. This means some roles will change, new roles will be created and some roles may no longer be required, as we reshape how we work and serve our customers,” a spokesperson for NAB told Bloomberg.

The bank recently hired Mark Davis from Goldman Sachs to lead the markets business, replacing Krista Baetens who departs next month.