(Bloomberg) -- UniCredit SpA hired former Barclays Plc investment banker Renato Di Monta to lead its financial institutions group, people with knowledge of the matter said.

Di Monta, 49, will join the Italian bank to help expand its advisory services to financial institutions and insurers, the people said, asking not to be named as the appointment isn’t public yet. Effective May 13, Di Monta will be based in Milan and will report to Andrea Coda, head of the bank’s M&A and industry sectors, they said.

The hiring is part of UniCredit’s strategy to capture more capital-light revenue and high-fee business, as the bank looks to win market share from rivals. UniCredit is reinforcing its FIG capabilities and plans more new hires. A spokesman for UniCredit declined to comment. 

Since Sam Kendall, head of advisory and financing solutions, joined in 2021, the division has hired bankers to boost its investment banking offering to companies across its European network with a focus on the mid-cap segment. Revenue at UniCredit’s Advisory & Financing Solutions business in the first quarter rose 10% from a year earlier, boosted by higher fees in the bond market and in M&A. 

Di Monta comes to UniCredit with decades of experience in mergers and acquisitions, advisory and capital market transactions. He joined Barclays in 2010, and four years later became its head of Italian financial institution groups. Since 2021 he’s also led the company’s FIG Continental Europe division. Before joining Barclays, Di Monta worked for Rothschild. 

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