UNIPOL CONFIRMS SALVATORI AS CEO

Italian insurer Unipol has appointed Unicredito Italiano vice-chairman Carlo Salvatori as chief executive. The insurer said that Mr Salvatori was “a manager with long experience in the financial sector, having held posts at the top of different major credit institutions in Italy and Europe”, noting that Mr Salvatori would see to completion the business plan for Unipol in 2006-2008, on which management has worked in the last months with consultants McKinsey and Mediobanca”. Mr Salvatori, who was CEO of Banca Intesa from 1998 to 2000, will be charged with continuing the integration of Unipol’s insurance operations with its banking services. Unipol said that the full details would be submitted to the investment community in September when it will lay out its strategic options and its plans for its excess capital. Mr Salvatori is also a member of the board of RAS Holding, a unit of Germany’s Allianz. Last year Unipol was involved in a failed takeover attempt of Banca Nazionale del Lavoro in what was seen as an attempt to keep the bank out of foreign hands. Last December CEO Giovanni Consorte resigned amid allegations of financial impropriety and behind-the-scenes agreements. Unipol is Italy’s third-largest insurer, last year recording a 12% increase in premium revenue year on year, up to 10.7bn euro. It has a market share of around 10%.