UniCredit not eying acquisitions after cooperative bank move

[MILAN] Italy's biggest bank UniCredit is not interested in making acquisitions even after the latest move by the Italian government to reform the country's cooperative banks, the lender's CEO Federico Ghizzoni said on Tuesday.

The Italian government earlier on Tuesday approved a decree calling on the country's largest cooperative banks, known as"popolari", to change their governance rules and become joint stock companies within the next 18 months.

Mr Ghizzoni also said an agreement had been reached on the sale of UniCredit's debt collector unit UCCMB, adding an announcement was expected shortly. "We hope to announce soon the completion of the agreement,"Ghizzoni said in a press conference.

UniCredit entered exclusive talks with a team comprising US investment firm Fortress Investment Group and Italian real estate group Prelios last October but talks are taking longer than expected.

REUTERS