MPS plunges -10% as ECB nixs request (2)

(supersedes previous)(ANSA) - Rome, December 9 - Shares in Monte dei Paschi di Siena (MPS) bank plunged 10% in trading Friday after the European Central Bank (ECB) turned down its request for an extension on the deadline to complete a 5-billion-euro capital increase. The troubled Tuscan lender had asked for 20 more days because of Italy's government crisis, extending the deadline to January 20. The rejection of MPS's request reportedly rules out the 'market solution' JP Morgan and Mediobanca have been working on and makes State intervention more likely to save the ailing lender, which is Italy's oldest and third-largest bank.