UniCredit kicks off second buyback for up to 1 billion euros

MILAN (Reuters) – Italy’s second-biggest bank UniCredit said on Wednesday it was kicking off its second share buyback this year, for up to 1 billion euros ($990 million), which it expects to conclude by the end of November.

It has hired BNP Paribas to carry out the purchases of up to 200 million shares, or 9.89% of the bank’s capital at present, which will be cancelled.

By 0717 GMT shares in UniCredit rose 1.3% against a flat Italian banking index.

The latest buyback comes after UniCredit in July completed a first tranche worth 1.58 billion euros, repurchasing 7.42% of its share capital.

The second tranche brings the overall capital distribution on 2021 earnings to 3.75 billion euros, as CEO Andrea Orcel works towards a goal of returning more than 16 billion euros to shareholders by 2024. ($1 = 1.0101 euros)

(Reporting by Valentina Za; Editing by Keith Weir)