Strategy
Unicredito Looks to Central and Eastern Europe for Asset Management Growth

Unicredito Italiano expects to secure an additional €11 billion in assets under management in Central and Eastern Europe
Unicredito Italiano expects to secure an additional €11 billion in assets under management in Central and Eastern Europe by 2010, according to Dario Frigerio, head of the private banking and asset management division. The additional assets will take Mr Frigerio said the bank wants to be the number one player in the region in the asset management business. Unicredito wants to enter new markets to fuel future growth, especially “Russia and beyond,” he added. Unicredito said it plans to combine its banking businesses in Poland, BPH and Pekao, into a single entity starting from the second half of this year. Once the administrative integration of the two entities is finalised, their operational integration will take up to a further six months to complete. Unicredito is in the process of selling the BHP brand name and 200 of the bank's 460 branches to assuage antitrust concerns raised by the Polish government. Unicredito said it will integrate its operations in the Czech Republic, Ukraine and Bosnia and Herzegovina over a similar timeframe. It added that its planned merger with Capitalia will not affect its existing commitment to investments in central and Eastern Europe, and will provide the necessary scale for further mergers with international players. In a report drawn up for the Unicredito shareholders' meeting called for July 28 to approve the merger with Capitalia, Unicredito said the Bank of Italy gave its clearance to the merger on 26 June 2007. After the merger with Capitalia, the new bank will be the third-biggest in terms of capitalisation in Europe and the biggest in the euro zone.