Italy’s biggest bank by assets UniCredit said it remained committed to the euro zone’s third biggest economy even after announcing it would reduce its exposure to Italy.
According to Reuters UniCredit unveiled this week a series of measures to boost its financial strength, including the sale of a 17 percent stake in Italian online banking unit Finecobank and a plan to decrease its Italian government bond holdings.
Asked whether the bank was reducing its exposure to Italy in preparation for a possible cross-border deal, Chief Executive Jean Pierre Mustier told reporters: “I would like to stress that our commitment to Italy has never been stronger.”
He added that the bank had increased lending to Italian clients by 4.4 percent from last year and was proud to be headquartered and listed in Italy.
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