UniCredit takes time in search for new CEO - source

MILAN (Reuters) - UniCredit (CRDI.MI) is taking time to choose the right successor to outgoing Chief Executive Federico Ghizzoni, a source familiar with the matter said on Thursday, as investor unease at the slow pace of progress grows.

Ghizzoni, who has headed Italy's biggest bank by assets for the last six years, agreed on May 24 to step down following months of shareholder discontent over share price, profitability and capital concerns.

The bank, which this month appointed head hunter Egon Zehnder to help in the search for a new head, held a board meeting on Thursday but no news emerged on a successor.

Sources previously said a candidate could be identified at the June 9 board meeting.

UniCredit has not given any official comment on when it expected to hire a replacement for Ghizzoni.

According to the source, Egon Zehnder has drawn up an identikit of what the new CEO should look like though no names have been mentioned and no deadlines set.

The ideal candidate would need a high international standing and would have to be appreciated by the market, the source said, adding nationality was no issue.

"It will take a bit of time, it won't be an immediate thing," the source said.

Concern is growing that disagreement among key shareholders over the ideal candidate is dragging things out. Earlier this month Cariverona banking foundation, which owns around 3 percent of UniCredit, urged a quick decision.

On Thursday Italy's Economy Minister Pier Carlo Padoan told Reuters he hoped UniCredit would name a new CEO quickly, adding he expected a successor to be named within "a few weeks" and fully installed by the end of the summer.

Uncertainty over the CEO has weighed on UniCredit shares which have fallen almost 17 percent since Ghizzoni announced he was stepping down.

"The main shareholders must have seen this coming, must have known a new management team was needed for a turnaround. They were unprepared," a Milan-based banking analyst said, asking not to be named.

The arrival of a new CEO is expected to lead to a broader shake-up of the bank group and possibly a multi-billion euro capital increase.

(Reporting by Silvia Aloisi and Stephen Jewkes; Editing by Alexandra Hudson)