UPDATE: Generali Says Botin Steps Down From Board

Italian insurance giant Assicurazioni Generali SpA (G.MI) Monday said Ana Patricia Botin resigned from the board due to her new appointments at Banca Santander SA (STD, SAN.MC).

"(The new appointments) have added to her existing difficulties in properly performing her duties as a director of Generali," the company said in a statement. In November Botin, the 50-year old daughter of Emilio Botin, chairman of the Spanish banking giant, was appointed chief executive of Santander's unit in the United Kingdom. She is currently working on a plan to relaunch UK operations as well as a possible listing of the unit by the end of the year.

Botin's departure comes just two days before a crucial board meeting of the Trieste-based insurer, where some shareholders are expected to push for an improvement of the existing management, with more defined roles for Chairman Cesare Geronzi.

Generali has been in the spotlight since the end of last year when clashes between some Italian shareholders and Geronzi erupted in the press. Questions over the acquisition of a 10% stake in Russian bank VTB as well as a multi-billion put option on an existing joint-venture with Czech-based investment company PPF sparked criticism among Generali shareholders. The company's Deputy Chairman Vincent Bollore in March decided not to sign off on 2010 results, citing the PPF joint venture. Earlier in February another board member, Luxottica SpA (LUX) founder Leonardo Del Vecchio, stepped down citing governance and investment issues.

It is unclear who, if anyone, will replace Del Vecchio and Botin on Generali's board as well as the commitees where they were members.

Botin was an independent member of the board as well as a member of Generali's corporate governance committee.

Santander had no comment late Monday.

-By Sabrina Cohen and Gilles Castonguay, Dow Jones Newswires; [phone]; [e-mail]

--Christopher Bjork contributed to this story.