MILAN: Italy's biggest bank by assets, UniCredit, posted a 512 million euros ($576 million) net profit in the first quarter, in line with analyst expectations, while its closely watched core capital edged higher.

An analyst consensus distributed by the bank had forecast a net profit of 511 million euros.

Earnings were boosted by trading income and higher fees. UniCredit said its fully-loaded CET 1 ratio, a key measure of financial strength, stood at 10.35 percent from 10.02 percent at the end of December.

The figure includes a contribution of about 25 basis points from a deal sealed in April to merge UniCredit's Pioneer with Santander Asset Management.

Copyright Reuters, 2015