According to UniCredit’s Chief Executive Officer Andrea Orcel, the bank returns capital to its shareholders mostly in the form of share buybacks rather than dividends, as this is what investors prefer.
“This is what shareholders tell us when we speak with them,” the CEO was quoted as saying by Reuters.
At a shareholders’ meeting on Friday, the lender approved a EUR 2.5 billion share repurchase program.
While UniCredit’s shares now trade at 5 to 5.5 times the bank’s forward earnings, “I think I am doing investors a favor by reducing the share count and boosting the yield going forward,” the CEO said.
The shares of UniCredit SpA (CRDI) closed 1.12% (EUR 0.255) higher at EUR 23.080 in Milan on Friday, while extending the gain from the previous market session.
The financial group’s total market cap now stands at EUR 40.642 billion.
The shares of UniCredit SpA (CRDI) have risen 73.90% so far this year, following a 2.01% loss in 2022.
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