国际英语新闻：CEO of Italy's largest bank steps down

MILAN, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- The chief executive of Unicredit, Italy's biggest bank by assets, stepped down on Tuesday after a special board meeting called in Milan was split more than three hours over whether to accept his resignation.

Alessandro Profumo, one of the Italy's most prominent and influential bankers who has led Unicredit since 1997, is reported to have lost the confidence of the key shareholders over his management of the bank since the outspread of the world financial crisis.

Recently Profumo's relations with some major shareholders have deteriorated for his alleged failure to inform them of the acquisition by Libya's central bank and sovereign wealth fund of a combined stake of 7.6 percent of Unicredit.

The Libyan Central Bank (LCB) holds about 5 percent of UniCredit while the Libyan Investment Authority (LIA) has just increased its stake from 2 percent to nearly 2.6 percent. Libya's investment is above the ceiling of 5 percent set in the group's statute, but the North African nation claims that the two companies are independent of each other.

The increasing of Lybia's stake has been sharply criticized by members of Prime Minister Berlusconi's key ally, the Northern League, which is concerned about Italian savings institutions and local jobs.

Profumo's alleged lack of transparency in handling the investment has also soured relations with Unicredit's chairman, Dieter Rampl, who will run the bank on an interim basis, local media reported.

However, according to analysts, Profumo's departure could leave Unicredit rudderless in its struggle to recover from the global financial meltdown after a string of acquisitions.

Unicredit, which employs close to 162,000 people in 22 countries, is planning to cut 6,000 jobs and close 400 branches in order to reduce costs and maintain profits.