The Monte dei Paschi di Siena
(MPS) bank on Tuesday reached a preliminary deal with the
Atlante 2 fund to offload 26 billion euros in gross
non-performing loans (NPLs), although the fine print still has
to be worked out.
The formal deadline for talks is tomorrow.
The deal was enabled, sources said, by the resolution of the
rescue of two Veneto lenders, Veneto Banca and Banca Popolare di
Vicenza.
MPS President Alessandro Falciai said Wednesday it is "very
likely" that the State's entry into the troubled Tuscan lender
as key shareholder will take place in July.
The MPS board will meet on June 29 or 30 to examine a draft
restructuring plan that will then be sent to the European
Commission for a green light.
The recapitalisation will be 8.3 billion euros, with a State
intervention of around six billion, and lay-offs will be
6-7,000.
MPS, Italy's third-biggest and the world's oldest bank, is
set for a painful restructuring after it came last in ECB stress
tests due to its high level of NPLs.
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