Italian Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti stated on Wednesday that he would step down if his stance on the “golden power” conditions attached to UniCredit’s bid for the smaller lender Banco BPM were overridden.

Giorgetti, a member of the hard-right League party, made the remark following media reports citing government sources, which indicated that modifications to the conditions were being considered, though Giorgetti was reportedly opposing them.

Speaking to reporters in the Senate, Giorgetti said he would resign immediately if he did not have the full backing of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on the matter, Reuters reports.

“If there were the slightest misalignment (with Meloni) you wouldn't find a resignation threat, but the resignation itself. You don't announce your resignation, you do it,” Giorgetti stated.

UniCredit’s move to acquire Banco BPM, which disrupted the government's strategy to merge BPM with the state-backed Monte dei Paschi di Siena, is part of a broader surge of takeover bids shaking up Italy’s banking sector.

To approve the deal, Meloni's government has imposed conditions on UniCredit, including a nine-month deadline to exit its operations in Russia and a commitment to maintain BPM’s loan-to-deposit ratio for five years.

The co-governing Forza Italia party, headed by Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, is pressuring the PM to soften the conditions imposed on UniCredit.

When asked by Reuters in parliament whether he supported easing the terms, Tajani responded, “yes, absolutely.”

The party is facing pressure from Italian companies that continue to depend on UniCredit for their operations in Russia, despite these activities having significantly decreased since Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Tajani stated that he is advocating for around 270 Italian businesses still legally operating in Russia and indicated he is unwilling to make any concessions.

“I am not going to take a step back for anybody,” he said, adding that he wants the Cabinet to meet and reconsider the golden power conditions attached to the UniCredit bid.

Giorgetti is resolute in taking a tough stance on UniCredit, emphasising that the government aims to safeguard Rome’s strategic interests by preventing “even the slightest risk” of supporting Russia’s economy, where the bank has operations.