UniCredit CEO says fund manager Amundi's future role hinges on mutual benefits

By Valentina Za

MILAN (Reuters) -UniCredit's accord with Europe's biggest fund manager Amundi to oversee assets of the bank's clients can extend past its 2027 expiry only if the benefits are mutual, Chief Executive Andrea Orcel said on Wednesday.

Amundi accounted for 80% of UniCredit's assets under management in 2021 when Orcel joined the bank. Since then, the former UBS banker has been cutting the proportion of Amundi funds in client portfolios to increase UniCredit's fee income.

"Amundi still (has) the majority of our assets under management," Orcel told a Bloomberg conference in Milan, adding its role will be "rebalanced" in 2027.

A new contract hinges on how the fund manager behaves, Orcel said. "The key question ... is are they a partner or are they a provider?"

Partners benefit significantly from getting closer, he noted. "Providers are different."

The experience of recent years did not bode well for the future of the relationship, Orcel said. "We've had four years of training, so we have a good idea of where this is going to land, but we will see. We still have two years."

Concerns over the future of the UniCredit contract have hit Amundi shares, with analysts warning about risks for earnings.

Relations with Amundi have been strained by its owner Credit Agricole helping Banco BPM's successful defence against UniCredit. 

UniCredit sold its fund business to Amundi in 2017 for 3.6 billion euros ($4.2 billion) to rebuild capital reserves. 

To improve profit margins, UniCredit has been favouring funds from its internal Onemarkets team and a venture with asset manager Azimut. The bank has an option to acquire the venture for a token price.

UniCredit retains 78%-79% for every dollar of assets under management, up from 65% in 2021.

"Our ambition in two years is to be at 85%. When I'm at 85%, honestly, owning an asset manager is not really viable because to get to 100% I also have to take the cost," Orcel said.

(Reporting by Valentina Za; Editing by Richard Chang)