Merger Showdown: Union Slams Crédit Agricole–Banco BPM Deal Over Job Cuts and “Deserted” Towns
Italian bank workers’ union First CISL has delivered a stark warning about the rumored merger between Banco BPM and Crédit Agricole Italia. On October 31, the union publicly rejected the potential deal, saying it would come at a high social cost. “An eventual Crédit Agricole–Banco BPM operation will bring a new wave of branch closures [and] heavy cuts to jobs,” cautioned First CISL Secretary General Riccardo Colombanifirstcisl.it. He stressed that hundreds of bank branches could shut if the two lenders combine, hurting not only bank employees but also local communities and small businesses that rely on nearby banking servicesfirstcisl.it. The union considers this scenario “a prospect we oppose with determination.”ansa.it Colombani pointed to a pattern of consolidation-driven layoffs and branch shutdowns – a phenomenon he termed “desertificazione bancaria”. “The data on major cities prove that bank desertification is not just a problem of remote areas,” he noted, indicating that even urban centers are losing bank branchesfirstcisl.it. First CISL’s new report reveals that 268 bank branches closed in Italy from January to September 2025, and many more closures are already planned by big banks in the final quarteransa.itansa.it. This year’s retrenchment follows a longer trend of banks trimming their physical networks
