Italian bank Intesa Sanpaolo SpA is considering selling, listing or finding a partner for its insurance unit according to a financial source said on Friday, and a newspaper put its value at more than 3 billion euros ($4.37 billion).
The move would be part of ongoing efforts by Italy’s biggest retail bank to boost capital. It turned its back on the state’s offer of crisis-fighting aid on Tuesday and issued a 1.5 billion euro Tier 1 hybrid bond to bolster capital ratios.
“The insurance group is part of the list of assets that could be used to generate value as well,” said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity. The source gave no details.
Il Messagero newspaper said Intesa Chief Executive Corrado Passera presented a paper to the board on Tuesday that put the insurance unit among three non-core assets that could be sold to boost capital.
The others are asset manager Banca Fideuram and Intesa Sanpaolo’s depositary service.
An Intesa spokesman declined to comment.
Sale of the insurance unit could be decided next year, Il Messaggero said, citing Passera’s document.
The bank said last month that assets up for sale, listing or partnership included Fideuram. Exor SpA, the holding company for Fiat’s Agnelli family, has said it is interested in Fideuram.
News reports have also said Intesa Sanpaolo was in talks to sell the depositary service to State Street Corp. The U.S. company has declined to comment.
Intesa Sanpaolo said on Tuesday that it would carry out asset disposals worth 11 billion to 15 billion euros.
Shares in Intesa Sanpaolo were off 1.52 percent at 2.915 euros at 1215 GMT, in line with the DJ Stoxx banks index.
With Reuters
