MPS reaches preliminary NPL deal with Atlante 2 (2)

(ANSA) - Milan, June 27 - 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.