BNP Paribas has let it be known that it would consider forming an asset management alliance with UniCredit, as a Bloomberg report said that the Italian lender is speeding up its separation from Paris-based Amundi, Europe’s largest asset manager.
With uncertainty surrounding the renewal of UniCredit’s distribution agreement with Amundi beyond mid-2027, BNP Paribas CEO Jean-Laurent Bonnafé told analysts his bank was open to exploring collaboration opportunities if the deal lapses.
“We’re open to any type of partnership with platforms that require top-tier assets and asset management expertise,” Bonnafé said during a conference call when asked about BNP’s potential interest in UniCredit.
Earlier this year, BNP Paribas reinforced its investment arm by acquiring Axa Investment Managers. Meanwhile, UniCredit, under CEO Andrea Orcel, has been working to strengthen its own fund management capabilities in a bid to increase fee-based revenues.
Orcel has acknowledged that UniCredit has been substituting Amundi funds with in-house managed products that yield higher margins, even while incurring penalties under the distribution contract. The agreement stipulates that Amundi must represent roughly 75% of UniCredit’s managed assets in Italy, with financial penalties escalating as that share declines.
According to Bloomberg, UniCredit has intensified its efforts to scale back the sale of Amundi funds, a report that caused Amundi’s stock to tumble nearly 9% before recovering some losses to close 5.5% lower by close of business Tuesday. Bloomberg also said UniCredit aims to cut to nearly zero the share of client money invested through Amundi, though Orcel has previously maintained that the bank would still offer some of Amundi’s products.
Tensions between the two companies have been compounded by the role of Amundi’s parent, Crédit Agricole, which helped defend Banco BPM — a takeover target of UniCredit — from acquisition attempts.
Italy remains Amundi’s largest market outside France. The firm spent €3.6 billion in 2017 to acquire UniCredit’s fund management business, but the future of the partnership has been uncertain since Orcel took the helm in 2021 with a strategy to internalise more revenue. Amundi has since downsized its Italian workforce.
A spokesperson for Amundi declined to comment further, while pointing to a statement in its Q3 results released yesterday that said that the firm remains committed to serving UniCredit’s customers and is open to continuing the collaboration beyond 2027, though renewal terms have yet to be finalised. The partnership currently covers €88 billion in Amundi-managed assets, €69 billion of which are in Italy.
