MILAN (Reuters) -Italy's windfall tax on banks should not undermine shareholders and investors' confidence, the chief executive of UniCredit (LON:0RLS) said in an interview published on Thursday.
"I believe it is right to wait for the outcome of parliamentary discussions (on the windfall tax)", CEO Andrea Orcel told Il Messaggero daily.
Last month, Italy dealt a surprise blow to its banks and sent shockwaves across the sector in Europe by announcing a one-off 40% tax on profits reaped from higher interest rates, after reprimanding lenders for failing to reward deposits.
The tax, a one-off measure which targets gains from banks' higher interest rates, will not amount to more than 0.1% of their total assets. It may be subject to amendments as it goes through parliamentary ratification.
In his interview, Orcel also confirmed UniCredit's buyback and dividend guidance of at least 6.5 billion euros ($6.97 billion) for this year, which would result in total returns to investors of at least 15.5 billion euros between 2021 and 2023.
($1 = 0.9330 euros)