* Q3 net 334 million euros vs avg forecast of 379 mln euros
* Won't curb eastern Europe, investment bank
* Tier 1 ratio at 8.61 percent end-Sept vs 8.41 end June
* Says compliant with 2013 capital requirements
* Shares down 2 percent, underperform European bank index
(Recasts with Ghizzoni on strategy, adds analysts' comments)
By Lisa Jucca and Gianluca Semeraro
MILAN, Nov 10 (Reuters) - Italy's UniCredit SpA will keep investing in high-return eastern Europe and won't curb its investment bank, new CEO Federico Ghizzoni said after sluggish volumes and high tax dragged profit below forecasts.
In his first earnings presentation since taking over on Sept. 30 from Alessandro Profumo, Ghizzoni said he did not plan to reduce the bank's presence in eastern Europe, nor was he looking to cut investment in its investment bank or in No.2 market Germany.
Third-quarter net profit at UniCredit, whose network extends into Kazakhstan, reached 334 million euros ($465 million), above the previous quarter but 15 percent down from a year ago and below an average analyst forecast of 379 million.
"The main reasons for the negative deviations result from weaker-than-expected top-line trends in net commission income and net interest income, as well as the high tax ratio and an increase in minorities," said WestLB analyst Christoph Bossmann.
"The results are not yet convincing. As long as loan volumes remain subdued and the interest rate environment remains low we forecast the earnings recovery to be delayed."
Analysts were also disappointed with UniCredit's lack of detail, in comparison with peers, on the impact of planned new rules on bank capital known as Basel III.
CORE MARKETS WEAK
Shares in UniCredit fell at the open and were down 2 percent at 1054 GMT, underperforming a 0.7 percent drop in the STOXX Europe 600 banking index.
Traders said the stock is still suffering from the departure of Profumo, who had transformed the bank through acquisitions into an international player but was ousted in September after clashing with shareholders.
His departure was followed last month by the announcement that investment banking head Sergio Ermotti will also leave the bank, fuelling speculation UniCredit would mainly focus on its retail banking division.
Analyst said the bank was generating low returns in its core western European markets, with Italy seen particularly weak due to prospective low growth and worries the economy could be dragged down with the deteriorating sovereign debt crisis.
"We continue to find the returns generated by the group as inadequate. Primarily due to high loan-loss charges in Italy, the bank is generating a return on risk-weighted assets of just 0.39 percent in western Europe," said Paola Biraschi, an analyst with Royal Bank of Scotland. "Returns are higher in eastern Europe -- 2.32 percent in the third quarter -- where however only 18 percent of risk-weighted assets are allocated."
UniCredit ruled out a capital increase as it said that "cumulative retained earnings (by Jan. 1 2013) will be sufficient to offset the full impact of Basel ... even assuming no phase-in and conservative assumptions on mitigation."
The bank was forced to tap shareholders and to scrap cash dividends during the credit crisis, angering Italian investors who blamed Profumo's risk-taking for the bank's woes.
UniCredit said its core Tier 1 ratio, a closely-watched measure of financial strength, had inched up to 8.61 percent -- higher than Italian peer Intesa Sanpaolo SpA's 7.7 percent, as reported on Tuesday. (Editing by David Holmes) ($1=.7187 Euro)