Linklaters advised the Italian UniCredit S.p.A. on its most recent capital increase. With this measure, the large bank reacted to the results of the stress test performed by the European Banking Authority, which had identified the capital gap. A higher Tier 1 capital ratio should help to better absorb the loss and default risk of banks in the future. This capital increase by €7.5 billion has been the largest capital measure ever implemented by an Italian bank.

The increase is also the first equity transaction that has been completed in Italy on the basis of an offering prospectus consisting of a registration document, a securities note and an executive summary, which were each to be approved individually. 

The German Linklaters team was led by Dr Herbert Harrer (capital markets, Frankfurt).