UniCredit holds regular talks with Generali, but strictly within the framework of a standard industrial partnership, while market speculation about other bank objectives is nothing more than "fantasy."

This was stated by UniCredit CEO Andrea Orcel during a conference call with analysts regarding the fourth-quarter results.

"They are one of our industrial partners. People forget that they provide the majority of our bancassurance products in Central and Eastern Europe," Orcel responded when asked about Generali.

"We distribute their asset management products within our network. So, of course we talk to them. The rest is a bit of fantasy from people who need to create stories, but there is nothing else on this subject, not that I know of at this time," he added.

(Italian version by Andrea Mandalà, editing by Stefano Bernabei)