MILAN, April 23 (Reuters) - Italian bank UniCredit holds a stake of 8.72% in Generali, the insurer's Chairman Andrea Sironi said on Thursday as he listed the holdings of investors at its annual general meeting (AGM).
The future of Generali, Italy's biggest insurer, has become a focus of interest in a consolidation wave sweeping Italian finance and rival factions have long tussled over its governance.
UniCredit had built a stake of 6.7% ahead of last year's Generali AGM, where it sided with a rebel investor. It said at the time it was a financial investment and has since spoken of reducing its stake so the higher figure came as a surprise.
UniCredit Chief Executive Andrea Orcel repeatedly said last year the bank would cut its exposure to Generali.
In the meantime, Generali's biggest investor, merchant bank Mediobanca, has been taken over by Monte dei Paschi di Siena and the repercussions for the insurer are not yet clear.
MPS CEO Luigi Lovaglio has said the Generali stake is a "nice to have" for the MPS-Mediobanca group.
Orcel told a financial conference last June that UniCredit would gradually reduce its Generali investment and exit it over time. UniCredit currently has a lot on its plate with its pursuit of Commerzbank, Germany's second-largest lender.
In October, Orcel told analysts the net stake in Generali had been reduced below 5%, and the net exposure was less than 2% when also including hedging contracts UniCredit had taken out. He said at the time the stake was neither strategic nor "tactically important".
A person with knowledge of the matter said Orcel was referring to UniCredit reducing its net financial exposure, a goal that can be achieved by acquiring protection against a potential drop in the Generali share price through derivatives.
In November, addressing a parliamentary committee in Rome, Orcel reiterated the net stake had been cut to around 2% and UniCredit was holding on to it and "observing the situation."
Additional reporting by Valentina Za; Editing by Alvise Armellini and Keith Weir
Source: Reuters