OREANDA-NEWS. February 19, 2015. UniCredit is not interested in Italian cooperative lender Banca Popolare di Milano, UniCredit's CEO Federico Ghizzoni said on Wednesday.

"We are absolutely not interested, we have never discussed such an idea," Ghizzoni said.

Italian newspaper Il Messaggero said on Wednesday Italy's biggest bank by assets could be eying Popolare Milano.

Italian cooperative lenders have come into focus as the government seeks parliamentary approval for an emergency decree to turn the 10 largest "popolari" banks into joint-stock companies, a move seen spurring mergers and acquisitions.