Unipol chief executive denies merger talks with BPM

The head of Unipol , Italy's third-largest insurer by market value, has denied having held talks about a possible merger with co-operative bank Banca Popolare di Milano (BPM).
"At the moment there are no talks with BPM," Chief Executive Carlo Salvatori said in an interview published on Saturday in the business newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore. Reiterating comments made last week by Chairman Pierluigi Stefanini, Salvatori was responding to reports of low-level talks between the insurer and the bank.
Financial sources told Reuters on August 29 that BPM had held low-key exploratory talks with investment bankers on a possible merger with Unipol, but there had not been any official talks.