UniCredit to name asset management head-source

MILAN Dec 3 (Reuters) - UniCredit (CRDI.MI) will announce a successor to Dario Frigerio, outgoing head of Pioneer Investments, in the next few days, a company source said, confirming the bank's commitment to its asset management unit.

"Pioneer as the asset management division of UniCredit stays a strategic business for the group and is not up for sale", the source told Reuters asking not to be named.

On Wednesday UniCredit said in a statement Frigerio was leaving for new professional opportunities and would stay until the end of January to assure a smooth transition.

The source said Frigerio is leaving for personal reasons.

Since joining the group about 21 years ago as a financial analyst, Frigerio, who was born in 1962, has held several positions in asset management and private banking.

Milan broker Equita said his departure could fuel speculation about the future of the asset management company. "A sale looks very unlikely, a merger with others possible," the broker said in its morning note.

Shares in UniCredit were up 1.4 percent at 2.372 euros at 0835 GMT, tracking gains in the DJ Stoxx European banking index .SX7P. (Reporting by Jo Winterbottom and Danilo Masoni; Editing by Greg Mahlich) ((danilo.masoni@thomsonreuters.com; +39 02 661 29 734; Reuters Messaging: danilo.masoni.thomsonreuters@reuters.net))