The management reshuffle at UniCredit continues. Two weeks after setting out his strategy for central and eastern Europe, new chief executive Federico Ghizzoni – himself a former head of CEE at the group – named the man who will be charged with implementing it.

Despite transforming UniCredit’s business, Italy’s most controversial banker lost one too many battles with the bank’s shareholders.

Putting the teeth into corporate governance.

Italy’s UniCredit made a €4 billion net profit in 2008, down 38% on the previous year but not as bad as some analysts feared. However, the bank, which is the biggest lender in central and eastern Europe, also recorded an almost 50% jump in bad debt provisions to €3.7 billion. The bank plans to sell up to €4 billion of hybrid debt to the Italian and Austrian governments, as well as private investors, to lift its core tier 1 capital ratio to 7.2% from 6.5%.

UniCredit is one of the world’s biggest financial groups but concerns over its capital base have made it vulnerable to panic-stricken investors.

Central and eastern Europe are a key division to UniCredit’s future success. Comprising 20 countries, with a regional market share of about 18%, historically the bank has grown its presence more through acquisition than organic growth.