UniCredit said chairman designate Pier Carlo Padoan and the board of directors would undertake a wide-ranging external and internal search for a replacement.

"It has become apparent in recent months that the 'Team 23' (business plan's) strategy and its core pillars no longer corresponds to the board's current thinking," Mustier said in a statement.

"Hence I have decided to retire from the group at the end of my mandate in April 2021, to allow the new board to elaborate a future strategy," he added.

(Reporting by Valentina Za, editing by Stephen Jewkes)