MILAN, March 12 (Reuters) - Top Italian insurer Assicurazioni Generali is interested in replacing French peer AXA as a partner for Monte dei Paschi di Siena and in expanding commercial deals with UniCredit, its chief executive said.

Speaking to reporters after Generali released full-year results on Thursday, CEO Philippe Donnet said the insurer "would be happy" to help MPS manage the savings of its customers on its home turf.

MPS's partnership with AXA expires in 2027, and CEO Luigi Lovaglio has repeatedly indicated that Generali could serve as an alternative.

"With the MPS-AXA partnership, Italian savings go to AXA, which sold its asset management business to BNP Paribas, so those savings are managed in France," Donnet said.

"If we can help bring Italian savings back to Italy we'll be happy to do so."

Donnet's comments underscore a U-turn from his earlier efforts to build a pan-European asset management champion by merging Generali's business with BPCE-owned Natixis.

They also highlight the challenge facing Europe's savings management industry, where consolidation trends often clash with nationalistic defences of domestic savings.

Donnet dropped the Natixis deal due to opposition from Italy's government and from key Generali shareholders Francesco Gaetano Caltagirone and the Del Vecchio family's Delfin investment vehicle.

Caltagirone and Delfin have tightened their grip on Generali after backing MPS's takeover of merchant bank Mediobanca, the insurer's largest investor.

Barring last minute surprises, MPS CEO Lovaglio appears set to leave his post in April, adding uncertainty to the future of Generali, which is regarded as a strategic financial asset for Italy.

Milan prosecutors are probing allegations that Delfin and Caltagirone have acted in coordination since 2019 to gain control of Mediobanca and Generali without properly disclosing their plans. All parties deny wrongdoing.

In separate remarks, Donnet said on Thursday that Generali's partnership with UniCredit in central and eastern Europe was working well.

"If there is a chance to widen the commercial partnership with UniCredit we're obviously open," he said.

UniCredit has built a stake in Generali, and CEO Andrea Orcel has said he is "observing" the situation at the insurer.

(Reporting by Gianluca Semeraro; Writing by Valentina Za; editing by Gavin Jones)

By Gianluca Semeraro