UniCredit eyes 7.5 bn-euro recapitalisation

Italy's UniCredit bank was set to approve Monday a 7.5-billion-euro increase in its capital as part of its third-quarter strategic plan, eagerly awaited by the markets, a source told AFP. The bank's strategic committee, headed by chief executive Federico Ghizzoni and including shareholder representatives, would propose the recapitalisation to the board which would approve the increase, the source said. The bank refused to comment on the issue, but will be presenting its strategic report and third-quarter results in the northern city of Milan from 4:00 pm (1500 GMT). Late last month, the bank said it said it would need 7.38 billion euros ($10.47 billion) in fresh capital to meet new European rules, citing a review by the European Banking Authority (EBA). The new 9.0 percent level for the most liquid capital reserves, as a proportion of a bank's total assets, was agreed at October's eurozone debt summit. The markets have been waiting for such a move: the Milan-based UniCredit is the only one of the country's major banks not to have recapitalised in compliance with the new regulations. The bank was listed among the 29 banks that regulators said needed to strengthen their positions by building up a temporary capital buffer against sovereign debt exposures. UniCredit has already said it plans to cut back on staff, with redundancies agreed with the unions. Economic daily Il Sole 24 Ore has suggested that this could involve the loss of 5,000 employees from its 160,000-strong workforce. UniCredit has operations in 22 European countries and operates in 50 markets across the world.