Fineco to decide on next AT1 call based on market conditions- CEO

MILAN (Reuters) - Italian online bank and brokerage FinecoBank will decide depending on market conditions whether to repay an 'Additional Tier 1' (AT1) perpetual bond with a first call option coming due in the fourth quarter, its chief executive said on Tuesday.

"We are waiting a green light from the ECB, and once it arrives we will move in line with market conditions", CEO Alessandro Foti told a post-result press conference.

Fineco issued a 300 million euro AT1 on July 2019, when UniCredit sold its residual stake in the company, in order to maintain the leverage ratio above 3.5%.

The perpetual bond has a first call option due on Dec. 3.

Fineco's AT1 issue is rated 'BB-' by S&P.

The $275 billion AT1 market bounced back late last year from a shock bondholder wipeout during the Credit Suisse rescue.

AT1 bonds count towards banks' 'Tier 1' capital because they are designed in such a way that they can absorb potential losses.

Reuters reported in December that Italian issuers, after a slow 2023, were expected to seize the traditional start of the year momentum in bond markets, including by selling AT1 debt.

(Andrea Mandalà, editing by Gianluca Semeraro and Ros Russell)