September 30 (SeeNews) - Italian banking group UniCredit plans to raise its share capital by up to 4.0 billion euro ($5.9 billion) and subscribe for a capital increase of up to 2.0 bilion euro of UniCredit Bank Austria, aiming to back operations in Austria and Central and Eastern Europe (CEE).
UniCredit will call an extraordinary shareholders' meeting in the middle of November to vote on the prposed 4.0 billion euro capital increase, it said in a statement on its website.
"The proposed capital increase is expected to take place by way of an issue of ordinary shares providing for regular beneficial ownership to be offered on a pre-emptive basis to existing ordinary and saving shareholders of the company," it said
The banking group plans to perform the hike by the end of the first quarter of 2010.
"In light of the strategic nature of the Group’s activities in Austria and in the CEE, the Board of Directors of UniCredit today also approved the strengthening of UniCredit Bank Austria’s capital base through the subscription of a capital increase of up to € 2 billion which will be resolved upon by UniCredit Bank Austria," it added.
The group will not use any government support in the capital hikes.
"The Board of Directors of UniCredit resolved not to proceed with the issuance of capital securities to be subscribed by the Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance and by the Austrian Ministry of Finance. The Board of Directors expressed its appreciation for the decisive action taken by the Italian and Austrian Governments, which have contributed significantly to the stabilization of the financial system and creating the necessary conditions for accessing the capital markets," it said.
UniCredit also confirmed its ongoing support to the economies of those countries, in which it operates, and its intention to continue developing a lending policy in support of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and households, confirming its compensation policy which would rewards sustainable long term profitability, customers’ satisfaction and the sound management of the company.
The UniCredit Group (www.unicreditgroup.bg) is a leading international banking group with strong presence in 22 European states and representative offices in 27 other markets running a network of 10,200 outlets and 174,000 employees. In CEE, it has over 4,000 outlets and 78,000 employees serving more than 28 million clients.
($ = 0.6819 euro)