Italy seeks UniCredit's departure from Russia to clear BPM deal, source says

ROME (Reuters) -Italy is likely to ask UniCredit to leave Russia as soon as possible among conditions the government can set to clear the proposed takeover of smaller rival Banco BPM, a source familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.

UniCredit is among the few international banks that have failed to exit Russia after the Ukraine war, with CEO Andrea Orcel saying he did not want to damage shareholders by exiting without a fair price for the assets. The bank, which has already faced calls from the European Central Bank (ECB) to speed up the reduction of its business in Russia, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Il Messaggero newspaper first reported the news earlier on Wednesday.

Italy is also expected to ask UniCredit to keep a stable rate between loans and deposits, and maintain current project finance operations, the paper said. The Italian government is reviewing the deal under so-called "golden power" regulations, allowing it to block or set conditions on foreign and domestic corporate takeovers in strategic sectors such as energy, telecommunications and banking.

It could deliberate on the deal as early as this week, as a cabinet meeting is scheduled for Friday. Reuters reported this month that the government was leaning towards a conditional green light for the Unicredit-Banco BPM transaction, with a decision expected by the end of April.

UniCredit said this month it would launch its 14 billion-euro ($15.93 billion) all-share bid for BPM on April 28, after receiving approval from market watchdog Consob. However, the lender reserves the right to wait until June 30 to decide whether continue with the terms of the offer.

($1 = 0.8786 euros)

(Reporting by Alvise Armellini and Giuseppe Fonte in Rome, Valentina Za in Milan; Editing by Rachna Uppal)