The Ambassador of the Kingdom of Spain in Bulgaria H.E. Mr. Jose Luis Tapia awarded, on behalf of His Majesty King Felipe VI of Spain, an Officer’s Cross of the Order of Civil Merit to Mr. Andrea Casini, Chief Operating Officer of UniCredit Bulbank. The official ceremony took place at the residence of the Ambassador of Spain in Sofia.

The Order of Civil Merit was established in 1926 by the Spanish King Alfonso XIII and it can be awarded to both Spanish and foreign citizens.

The Officer’s Cross of the Order of Civil Merit was awarded to Mr. Andrea Casini in recognition of his patronage and support of Spanish culture as well as for his support for the fulfillment of the cultural program of the Embassy in favour of the Bulgarian audience.

UniCredit Bulbank develops a targeted program in support of valuable projects in the field of culture. The Bank is a main partner of the Embassy of Spain for making the “Picasso. The Eternal Search” exhibition of artworks by the famous Spanish painter possible. The exhibition was inaugurated in the National Art Gallery “The Palace” at the end of October and will be open to visitors until January 25th. It includes 85 artworks by Picasso provided by the Picasso Birthplace Museum in Malaga. With the support of UniCredit Bulbank, the Bulgarian audience also had the opportunity to enjoy the performances “Suite Sevilla” (“Seville Suite”) and “Grito” (“Cry”) by the National Ballet of Spain.

Mr. Andrea Casini is a professional banker. He started his career at UniCredit in 1987 as Director of the “Credito Italiano” Branch Office in Brescia. He has occupied various management positions in Italy and in 2011 became Head of Corporate Banking of UniCredit Group for the new European countries. From 2002 to 2005 he was Chief Operating Officer of the UniCredit banks in Slovakia and the Czech Republic.

Mr. Casini has also been honoured with the “Knight of the Order of the Star of Italy” and was awarded the rank of “Commander pro Merito Melitensi” by Fra' Matthew Festing, Prince and Grand Master of the Sovereign Order of Malta.

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UniCredit Bulbank, Identity & Communications Department

Viktoria Blajeva, Phone: + 359 2 9264 993, wjlj/ebwjepwbAvojdsfejuhspvq/ch

Magdalena Ivanova, Phone: + 359 2 9232 528, nbhebmfob/jwbopwbAvojdsfejuhspvq/ch