Rome, October 25, 2006 — Shearman & Sterling is acting as US and Italian counsel to the UniCredito Italiano Group (Italy's largest banking group) in connection with its drive to expand and geographically diversify its funding base, which has involved one of the most ambitious securities issuance programs in recent times.  In 2006, the Rome office advised UCI on the establishment of:

• a US$7.5 billion Rule 144A commercial paper program;
• a US$15 billion Rule 144A extendible notes program; and
• a US$10 billion Rule 144A medium-term notes program, a groundbreaking transaction that required the resolution of numerous and complex settlement, tax and bank regulatory issues.

To date, the UniCredito Group has issued securities in an aggregate amount of more than US$15 billion under these programs, including more than US$8 billion in extendible notes and US$4 billion in medium-term notes (representing the first DTC-settled MTNs issued by an Italian issuer).

Attorneys included partners Michael Bosco (Rome-Capital Markets), Domenico Fanuele (Rome-Capital Markets) and Bernie Pistillo (London-Tax), associates Tobia Croff (Rome-Capital Markets), Mei Lian (Rome-Capital Markets), Christoph Lohmann (Munich-Tax), Ethan Perry (Rome-Capital Markets) and Marco Ramondino (Rome-Capital Markets) and trainees Giovanni Cirelli (Rome-Capital Markets) and Serena Scarabotti (Rome-Capital Markets) and German lawyer Anita Brand (Munich-European Finance).