Monte dei Paschi is 64% owned by the Italian state, which needs to re-privatise it eventually.

"I think Monte dei Paschi has taken a different direction in their strategy. They're going it alone at the moment. And they've raised their capital, they're rationalising the bank, they're restructuring the bank," Orcel said.

"They're doing a good job. And that's what there is about it. So they need to do that, and then we'll see," he said when asked about a Reuters report that UniCredit was still seen as a potential buyer for Monte dei Paschi.

(Reporting by Valentina Za, editing by Gianluca Semeraro)