The head of Crédit Agricole Group's Italian unit said the bank supports Credito Valtellinese SpA's top managers despite one of its shareholders calling for them to be replaced, Reuters reported.
Crédit Agricole agreed in July to acquire a 5% stake in Creval to gain access to the lender's distribution network.
Ariberto Fassati, chairman of the French lender's business in Italy, said it had a "totally positive" view of Creval's top managers, even though shareholder Denis Dumont wants the board to be replaced.
Creval will hold a shareholder meeting on Oct. 12 to vote on Dumont's proposal to appoint a new board. Dumont holds 5.78% of Creval's share capital.