Matteo Arpe, the chief executive of Capitalia, is expected to leave the Italian bank if talks with rival UniCredit lead to a takeover.
A source close to Capitalia said Arpe would not stay on as part of an enlarged group. Arpe is seen as the architect of Capitalia's success in recent years, helping lift the share price from a low of less than €1 in 2002 to €7.51 at 10:25 GMT today.