Siena, ITALY — Monte dei Paschi di Siena is holding firm on its plans to acquire Mediobanca for 13 billion euros ($14.3 billion) despite ongoing market turbulence, telling CNBC it will complete the deal in July.

The world’s oldest bank still in operation, surprised investors in January by making an all-share offer for Mediobanca, a prestigious institution focused on wealth management and investment banking. Mediobanca has rejected the proposal, denouncing it as a “destructive” move that is devoid of financial rationale.

Monte dei Paschi has faced several challenges over the years, most notably when it was bailed out by the Italian government in 2017 after it failed to raise much-needed cash from private investors. The Italian government has sold its majority stake in Monte dei Paschi and it currently represents less than 12% of ownership.

The bank’s CEO Luigi Lovaglio told CNBC on Monday that Monte dei Paschi “is back” and “in control of our destiny.”

When asked if the ongoing market turbulence could be a problem for its expansion plans, Lovaglio said: “The [market] situation will not impact our deal.”

“On the opposite, [the market situation] is confirming that size matters, [it] is confirming that you need to diversify on revenues,” he said, adding that if they were already a combined entity, they would “be stronger” and “have capability to react much quicker.”

The recent market volatility has led some companies to put some deals on hold. British private equity firm 3i Group Plc has reportedly postponed a sale of the maker of pet food MPM, while fintech company Klarna has put its IPO plans on hold.

Analysts have been divided over the benefits of the deal between Monte dei Paschi and Mediobanca. Deutsche Bank, for instance, said in mid-March the market was ignoring some potential opportunities for Monte dei Paschi, including a bigger distribution policy.

Other analysts warned about limited synergies in combining two different banks. Barclays, for example, said Monday that it was cutting its price target for Monte dei Paschi, taking a more skeptical view on the potential gains from a deal with Mediobanca. “Should Monte dei Paschi decide to spend more to convince majority of the Mediobanca institutional shareholders, the excess capital could reduce,” Barclays said.

Speaking to CNBC, Lovaglio was adamant the offer for Mediobanca presents a “fair price” and did not comment on whether the company would sweeten the deal to make it more appealing for Mediobanca shareholders.

“Hopefully within July, we can complete the deal,” he added.

Amid a pullback in global equity markets on Monday, Monte dei Paschi and Mediobanca shares both closed around 5% lower. Since Monte dei Paschi announced its intention to buy Mediobanca on January 24, the latter’s shares have lost about 14% of their value and the former about 8.5%.

Monte dei Paschi’s offer for Mediobanca came at a time of wider consolidation efforts in Italian banking. UniCredit announced last year an offer to buy rival Banco BPM for about 10 billion euros.

Lovaglio said these bids represent the first wave of domestic consolidation for Italian banks.

“I believe this is the first phase [of consolidation] and, probably, we will have a second phase two years from now. That’s why, by combining Monte [dei] Paschi with Mediobanca, we will be in a position to be again a protagonist,” Lovaglio said.

Check out the companies making headlines in after-hours trading:

Health-care stocks — Shares of Humana, CVS Health and UnitedHealth jumped after The Wall Street Journal reported that the Trump administration will raise payment rates for Medicare insurers next year to 5.06%, higher than the 2.23% increase the Biden administration had proposed. Humana gained more than 13%, while CVS Health and UnitedHealth advanced more than 7% and about 6%, respectively.

Levi Strauss — The clothing stock rose more than 1% after the company reported its first-quarter results. Levi Strauss reported adjusted earnings of 38 cents per share, a 52% jump compared to the prior-year period. Revenue of $1.53 billion for the period also marked a 3% jump compared to last year.

Greenbrier — Shares of the railcar manufacturer fell 4% on the back of the company dialing back its revenue guidance for the full year. Greenbrier now sees revenue ranging from $3.15 billion to $3.35 billion, compared to previous guidance of $3.35 billion to $3.65 billion.

Dave & Buster’s — Shares of the owner and operator of entertainment and dining venues climbed nearly 2% on the heels of its fourth-quarter adjusted earnings, which came in at 69 cents per share. That is above the 67 cents per share that analysts polled by FactSet were expecting. Revenue, however, came in weaker than anticipated, with the company posting $534.5 million for the quarter versus the consensus estimate of $544.7 million.

Broadcom — The semiconductor stock moved more than 2% higher following the company’s authorization of a new $10 billion share repurchase program, effective through Dec. 31.