Banco Popolare says tie-up with Pop Milano 'not impossible dream'

NOVARA, Italy (Reuters) - A tie-up between Italian cooperative lenders Banco Popolare and Banca Popolare di Milano is not impossible but is not easy to achieve, Banco Popolare CEO Pier Francesco Saviotti said on Saturday.

Saviotti also said that a merger with UBI could not be ruled out but that there were no talks between the two banks.

"We are not talking with UBI," he said on the sidelines of a shareholder meeting.

(Reporting by Gianluca Semeraro, editing by Silvia Aloisi)