Credit Agricole has received authorization from the ECB to increase its stake in Banco BPM S.p.A. to 19.9%. As Italy's third largest banking group, Banco BPM operates across six key areas, including private and investment banking, insurance, and asset management, with a network of 1,437 branches and significant current deposits and loans totaling EUR 102.5 billion and EUR 129.3 billion, respectively.