NOVARA, Italy (Reuters) - A tie-up between Italian cooperative lenders Banco Popolare (>> Banco Popolare Societa Cooperativa) and Banca Popolare di Milano (>> Banca Popolare di Milano) is not impossible but is not easy to achieve, Banco Popolare CEO Pier Francesco Saviotti said on Saturday.

Saviotti also said that a merger with UBI could not be ruled out but that there were no talks between the two banks.

"We are not talking with UBI," he said on the sidelines of a shareholder meeting.

(Reporting by Gianluca Semeraro, editing by Silvia Aloisi)