"This quarter gives the idea of what we want to do in the plan path that is to have a bank more centered in wealth management," explained CEO Alberto Nagel in a briefing on the accounts.

Wealth management and Insurance, a segment effectively represented by the Generali stake, drove the quarter's accounts, while Corporate & Investment Banking was held back by market weakness.

The quarter's results come two days before the shareholders' meeting that will be called to renew the board, choosing between the list presented by the outgoing board, which confirms Nagel's name, and that of the first shareholder Delfin.

Nagel, who has led the bank since 2008, said he is "committed and available" to implement the three-year plan presented last May, even if the list of Delfin, whose founder Leonardo Del Vecchio has not spared him criticism in the past, wins.

Whether Delfin has two or five representatives on the board, "the industrial direction of the bank will remain the same and we will be committed to doing even better," he said.

The first quarter closed with a net profit of 351 million, up 34 percent from the same last year, higher than the consensus raised by the bank of 315 million, thanks in part to a strong contribution from the insurance division.

Total revenues also exceeded expectations, coming in at 863 million (up 14 percent) against a consensus of 840 million.

In particular, net interest income rose 25 percent to 496 million against a 14 percent decline in commissions, Mediobanca explains.

Availing itself of the option provided by the rule on so-called extra profits, the board will propose at the shareholders' meeting the establishment of a reserve of non-distributable profits of 210 million "without determining impacts on the income statement," plus 16 million from Compass.

Nagel said he was "very confident" in net income growth for the year despite the uncertain macroeconomic and geopolitical scenario.

(Andrea Mandalà, Gianluca Semeraro, editing Stefano Bernabei)