MILAN, March 13 (Reuters) - It would be "disappointing" if the strict criteria UniCredit has set for considering potential acquisitions prevented the Italian bank from deploying at least part of its ample excess capital in this way, its chief executive said.

"My view is that at some point you need to build the business, so M&A at the right price is better (than distribution)," CEO Andrea Orcel told the Morgan Stanley investor conference in London on Wednesday.

(Reporting by Valentina Za, editing by Gianluca Semeraro and Louise Heavens)