Unicredit Spa has expanded its participation in the largest insurer in Italy, which could give the executive director Andrea Orcel more influence on future agreements.

Orcel said Tuesday during the fourth quarter of Unicredit. Call the bank now controls more than 5% in Assicurazioni Generali SPA through a mixture of direct shares and in the name of the clients. He did not say if the increase in participation occurred through actions that he has completely or only remains for others.

Unicredit previously revealed a 4.1% participation in generali, while saying that it manages another 0.6% in the name of third parties.

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Orcel reiterated that he considers the participation of Generali as a “financial” investment and does not plan to buy the insurance company.

A general participation offers ORCe a possible negotiation chip in a wave washing in accordance with the Financial Services sector of Italy in which several parties have recently tried to increase their positions in the next negotiations.

A participation of more than 4.8% in general would make Unicredit the fourth largest investor of the insurer, behind Mediobanca Spa and the multimillionaire of the Vecchio and the families of Calltagirone. From Vecchios and Francesco Gaetano Caltagirone are also the largest shareholders in Mediobanca and have recently raised their participations in Banca Monte Dei Paschi di Siena Spa, which in turn seeks to buy Mediabonca.

Meanwhile, Orcel is looking for an acquisition of the domestic rival, BPM SPA Bank. The Italian government hoped to use that lender to privatize Monte Paschi with the help of billionaires and create a new large Italian bank.

When an analyst asked him about the justification behind the largest Stake of Generali, Orcel remained cryptic. “It’s something that makes sense at this time,” he said.

Photography: Unicredit’s headquarters in Milan, Italy. Photo credit: Francesca Volpi/Bloomberg

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