The troubled bank Monte dei
Paschi di Siena (MPS) will proceed with a share offering to
raise three billion euros in capital in mid-May, its President
Alessandro Profumo said Wednesday.
"We can start after May 12," Profumo said on the sidelines
of a conference.
Meanwhile, the purchase of a 5.748% stake in MPS by United
States fund Blackrock is "an important signal" that demonstrates
a renewed interest from international players in the world's
oldest operating bank, said Profumo.
"Blackrock is one of the largest asset managers in the
world," he said.
"It's very important to have them wanting to invest," and
sends a sign to other investors that MPS is bank that "did its
homework," said Profumo.
The planned share issue has been tied to repaying part of
the 4.1-billion euros in State aid that MPS received from the
Italian government as part of a plan to turn the lender around.
Analysts have said the bank may risk nationalization if it
fails to generate enough capital to repay State aid.
He also commented on investigations by market regulator
Consob and the Guardia di Finanza into the scandal-hit bank's
previous management.
"We have always had a great confidence in the work of the
court, always giving our full cooperation," he said.
Italy's third-largest bank was thrown into crisis in
January 2013 when it emerged that a shady series of derivative
and structured-finance deals produced losses of 720 million
euros.
Siena prosecutors have been pursuing charges of alleged
bribery, corruption, tax evasion and other illicit operations at
MPS, which were either related to the bank's nine-billion-euro
acquisition of rival Antonveneta in 2008 or the period following
the takeover.
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