(Bloomberg) -- UniCredit SpA is bringing the Italian life insurance businesses it operated with CNP Assurances and Allianz back in-house, as Chief Executive Officer Andrea Orcel eyes higher fees and profitability.
The Milan-based bank, which has made headlines with its surprise move on Germany’s Commerzbank AG, said Wednesday it will acquire CNP Assurances’ 51% stake in CNP UniCredit Vita SpA and Allianz’s 50% stake in UniCredit Allianz Vita SpA.
The two deals are expected to be completed next year with an impact of around 20 basis points on UniCredit’s regulatory capital CET1, the lender said.
UniCredit’s Italian life bancassurance generated about €500 million ($560 million) in distribution fees in 2023, 12% of total fees in the country, on top of around €85 million in profit from the stakes in the two companies.
The company said the move won’t affect its non-life bancassurance business, which will continue to be operated through joint ventures with Allianz.
Since taking over in 2021, Orcel has shaken up the firm’s outsourcing deals and partnerships in businesses from insurance, to payments to asset management, in an efficiency drive that’s seen some operations internalized. That’s reduced the bank’s roster of partners and helped improve terms of existing ventures.
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