Euronext Borsa Italiana:Statement by Carlo Messina

Following the announcement by Euronext that it has reached an agreement to acquire Borsa Italiana, Carlo Messina, CEO of Intesa Sanpaolo, commented:

“We are very pleased to be part of the new Euronext project for Borsa Italiana.

“As a large European banking group, we strongly believe in a project that leads to greater integration and strengthening of the Continent's financial infrastructure. Soon, with Brexit, Europe will lose its most important capital market. We believe this is a valuable opportunity to build a deep financial market outside London or New York.

“Euronext, strengthened by Borsa Italiana, will have the scale and diversification to seize this opportunity, while we hope also creating a market that assumes the title of global leader in green and sustainable finance.

“Ours is a strategic investment in favor of a European project that leads to Capital Markets Union and at the same time supports those Italian companies that wish to expand beyond national borders, providing access to services that can strengthen them financially and make them more competitive internationally.

“The operation combines the strengths of Euronext and Borsa Italiana, drawing on their complimentary areas of leadership and the new group's extended footprint that includes many of Europe's main stock exchanges. In addition, the activities related to the MTS trading platform for government bonds - already a point of excellence in Europe - will find space to grow.”