Assicurazioni Generali (G.MI) Co-Chief Executive Sergio Balbinot said Friday that the stake the insurer holds in German lender Commerzbank AG (CBK.XE) is financial and a decision on its future will be taken once the existing bancassurance joint venture with the bank is dissolved in 2010.

"The stake Generali holds at Commerzbank was strategic in the past because of the commercial relationship we had with the bank," Balbinot said. "Following Allianz's acquisition of Commerzbank and the subsequent decision not to renew the bancassurance agreement, things have changed."

Balbinot also said the German market is important for Generali's operation.

-By Sabrina Cohen, Dow Jones Newswires, +39 347 3563 463; sabrina.cohen@dowjones.com