CEO Philippe Donnet made the remarks during a press conference on the 2025 results.
Donnet stated that the Trieste-based group would be "happy" to help Mps manage its clients' savings in Italy.
The partnership between Mps and Axa expires in 2027, and the CEO of the Sienese bank, Luigi Lovaglio, has repeatedly pointed to Generali as a possible alternative.
Donnet highlighted how, under the Mps-Axa partnership, Italian savings "were given to Axa, which gave them to Bnp Paribas to manage," meaning those savings are managed "in France by the French."
"If we can contribute to bringing these savings back to Italy, we will be happy to do so," he added.
Last year, Generali sought to build a pan-European asset management champion through a joint venture with France's Natixis, controlled by the Bpce group.
The project was later abandoned due to opposition from the Italian government and two major Generali shareholders, Francesco Gaetano Caltagirone and Delfin, the Del Vecchio family holding company, who were concerned that Italian savings would be managed in another country.
The affair highlighted the difficulties facing the European asset management sector, where consolidation drives often clash with the nationalistic defense of domestic capital.
Caltagirone and Delfin recently strengthened their influence over Generali by supporting the acquisition of Mediobanca, the Trieste insurer's largest shareholder, by Mps.
"Our largest shareholder remains Mediobanca. There have been changes in Mediobanca's shareholding structure and that concerns Mediobanca. We have positive and institutional relationships with all our shareholders," Donnet said.
Barring any last-minute surprises, Lovaglio appears set to leave his post in April, adding uncertainty to the future of Generali, which is considered a strategic financial asset for Italy.
Regarding UniCredit, Donnet said that "if there is an opportunity to expand the commercial partnership with UniCredit, we are obviously open."
UniCredit recently built a stake in Generali, and CEO Andrea Orcel has stated that he is monitoring the evolution of the insurance company's situation.
(Gianluca Semeraro, editing Stefano Bernabei)
