Generali Faces Salvini’s Opposition to Natixis Deal: “Italian Savings Must Stay in Italy”
April 8, 2025, 4:02 AM PDT — Italy’s Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini has taken a firm stand against a proposed asset management partnership between Italian insurance giant Assicurazioni Generali and France’s Natixis Investment Managers, insisting that Italian savings remain under domestic control. In an interview with La Stampa published Monday, April 7, Salvini declared, “I’m not talking specifically about Natixis, but Italian savings must stay in Italy,” reigniting a nationalist push to safeguard the country’s €5 trillion in financial wealth amid a contentious deal that has divided Rome’s political and business elite.
The non-binding accord, struck in January between Generali and Natixis’s parent BPCE, aims to merge Generali Investments Holding (GIH) and Natixis Investment Managers into Europe’s largest asset manager by revenue, overseeing €1.9 trillion. Generali’s investment committee backed the deal in January, per MarketScreener, but Salvini’s comments—echoing Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s January call to keep “decision-making centers” domestic—signal mounting government resistance as a formal review looms under Italy’s “golden power” laws. These rules let Rome veto or condition deals deemed vital to national interests, a lever it’s poised to pull as Generali’s April 24 shareholder vote nears to reappoint CEO Philippe Donnet and finalize the board’s stance.
Salvini, head of the far-right League party, stopped short of naming Natixis explicitly but framed his stance as a broader principle. “It hasn’t always been this way. I observe, but I don’t cheerlead. I don’t want to meddle in shareholder dynamics,” he told La Stampa, distancing himself from the internal feud pitting Donnet’s backer Mediobanca against dissenting shareholders Francesco Gaetano Caltagirone and Leonardo Del Vecchio, who hold three of 13 board seats and oppose the tie-up. Posts on X reflect the tension, with one user noting, “Salvini’s playing the patriot card—Italian savings are his line in the sand.”
Generali has scrambled to ease concerns. A February 4 FIRSTonline note insisted the joint venture won’t shift Italian assets abroad or alter its €650 billion allocation, including hefty BTP (Italian bond) holdings critical to refinancing Italy’s €3 trillion debt. “The operation with BPCE will have no impact on Generali Group BTPs,” the company stressed, touting a 15-year pact ensuring co-control and a €50 million penalty for backing out. Yet Salvini’s skepticism—shared by Meloni’s government, per Reuters—casts doubt on the deal’s fate, especially after Donnet signaled last week he won’t “lock horns” with Rome if opposition hardens.
The timing’s brutal. Trump’s tariffs—a 34% hit on China, 10% on all imports—have slashed $5 trillion from the S&P 500 since April 2, per Reuters, amplifying Italy’s economic stakes. Salvini’s rhetoric dovetails with his populist playbook, from his 2019 “closed ports” policy to his current tariff critiques, per Euronews. As Elon Musk urges Trump to ditch duties and markets wobble, Salvini’s salvo adds a nationalist twist to a deal already teetering between corporate ambition and political will. Will Generali bend, or will Rome’s golden power snap the French connection? For now, Italian savings—and Salvini—hold the spotlight.
