MILAN (Reuters) – UniCredit said the European Central Bank had authorised it to buy back its own shares for 3.085 billion euros ($3.3 billion), approving the second instalment of the Italian bank’s overall buyback plans over 2023 earnings.
“The approval was based on financial information provided by the company that demonstrated robust capital and a resilient model in stress scenarios,” the bank said in a statement.
WHY DOES IT MATTER?
Under CEO Andrea Orcel UniCredit has embraced one of Europe’s most generous shareholder distribution policies, which has been key to lifting the bank’s share price and valuation multiples.
CONTEXT
The new buyback follows a first tranche worth 2.5 billion euros, which UniCredit completed on March 7.
When taking into account also dividends, UniCredit paid out to shareholders a total of 8.6 billion euros out of its 2023 profits, with a 3.35-billion-euro increase over 2022.
($1 = 0.9332 euros)
(Reporting by Valentina Za, editing by Alvise Armellini)
