Unicredit appointment of new CEO could open way for EUR 5bn-7bn capital increase or asset sell-off
The appointment of a new CEO by Unicredit could open the way for a EUR 5bn-7bn capital increase by the listed Italian bank, Italian language daily Il Sole 24 Ore reported.
The report cited market rumours claiming that an alternative approach to a capital increase would be the sale of assets such as Unicredit's stakes in FinecoBank, Turkish lender Yapi Kredi and Polish bank Pekao.
The report added that present CEO Federico Ghizzoni could be removed at either Unicredit's governance committee meeting on 1 June or its board meeting on 9 June.
The report said that contenders for the CEO position are deputy chairman of BofA-Merrill for Europe and the Middle East, Marco Morelli; the CEO of Mediobanca, Alberto Nagel; Intesa Sanpaolo, general manager of Gaetano Micchiche; Alberto Orcel and Sergio Ermotti of UBS; Horta Osorio, the CEO of Lloyds; and internal candidates Jean-Pierre Moustier and Gianni Franco Pappa.
The report said that headhunting firms Egon Zehnder, Spencer Stuart and Russell Reynolds are all in the running to handle the selection process.
Il Sole 24 Ore