Italy’s largest lender Intesa Sanpaolo is preparing a formal bid for Madrid-based wealth manager Singular Bank as part of a competitive sale process launched by majority owner Warburg Pincus, according to people familiar with the matter cited by the Financial Times on Wednesday.

The paper reported that Intesa has begun due diligence on Singular and is weighing an offer that could mark one of the few recent cross-border banking acquisitions in Europe. The move forms part of chief executive Carlo Messina’s strategy to expand Intesa’s wealth management operations across Europe as revenue growth from higher interest rates slows.

People familiar with the talks told the Financial Times that Warburg Pincus is seeking about €300 million for Singular, although Intesa’s expected offer could fall below that valuation. The identity of rival bidders has not been established.

Singular manages roughly €20bn in client assets and strengthened its position in Spain’s private banking market through its 2021 acquisition of UBS’s Spanish wealth management business. An acquisition would represent Intesa’s first significant expansion in Spain beyond its longstanding corporate and investment banking office in the country.

Intesa, which has a market capitalisation of about €97bn, announced earlier this year that it planned to hire more than 2,300 wealth advisers by 2029 as part of its broader push into asset and wealth management. The bank has largely avoided the consolidation wave that has reshaped parts of Italy’s banking sector during the past 18 months.

Recent European banking deals have faced political resistance and regulatory scrutiny. UniCredit’s attempt to acquire Banco BPM was challenged after Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni’s government raised national security concerns, while UniCredit’s pursuit of Commerzbank has drawn opposition in Germany.

German chancellor Friedrich Merz said recently that Europe needed larger banks but opposed “aggressive” takeover tactics in banking deals.

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