Assicurazioni Generali SpA's (G.MI) co-Chief Executive Sergio Balbinot said Tuesday that the company's existing distribution agreement with German lender Commerzbank AG (CBK.XE) hasn't changed.

According to a German press report, Generali has asked German Finance Minister Peer Steinbrueck to make sure that Commerzbank continues to market Generali's products after October 2010.

In a telephone interview, Balbinot said that from Generali's point of view, "nothing has changed." He added that "Generali has always stuck to its own commitments" and "in this case we will do so, fulfilling the engagements undertaken with all counterparts in the negotiations which led to the creation of Commerzbank-Dresdner."

From October 2010, Commerzbank plans to exclusively market products from insurer Allianz SE (AZ), from which it recently acquired Dresdner Bank. Commerzbank therefore gave notice in May it will cancel its cooperation with Generali.

A Generali spokeswoman added that its stake of approximately 6% in Commerzbank is already written at fair value in Generali's consolidated financial statements, in line with current International Financial Reporting Standards.

The German state now holds a stake of 25% plus one share in Commerzbank.

German finance ministry spokesman Stefan Olbermann Tuesday said the government never comments on any letter sent to the minister. "I can assure you that our principle hasn't changed, namely that the federal government as a shareholder in Commerzbank is not influencing Commerzbank's business decisions," Olbermann said.

At 1250 GMT, shares of Generali were trading up 0.6% at EUR14.92, in line with the Milan FTSE Mib index, while shares of Commerzbank were +1%

-By Sabrina Cohen, Dow Jones Newswires, +39 02 5821 9906; sabrina.cohen@dowjones.com

   (Andrea Thomas in Berlin contributed to the story.)