Italy’s Mediobanca’s chief executive Alberto Nagel has expressed interest in acquiring American International Group’s private banking assets and this has been reported in several media outlets.

When contacted,  a spokesperson for the bank told WealthBriefing that Mediobanca’s interest is only part of a general interest in acquiring banking assets.

The spokesperson said: “In the future it would be a good opportunity. We are looking into it, but this is not a declaration of intent. This is general interest, not specific. Not particularly in AIG, as it is one of many we are interested in.”

Over 60 years old, Mediobanca is the largest investment bank in Italy and has offices in Moscow, Paris and New York, just this year opening its first office in London. It has recently expanded its operations in retail with the renaming of mortgage lender Micos Banca to CheBanca! and expanded operations to include savings products and current accounts.