MPS deal with EU 'days away' - official (2)

(ANSA) - Milan, May 23 - A deal with the European Commission on the precautionary recapitalisation of troubled Tuscan lender Monte dei Pachi di Siena (MPS) is "a question of days", economy ministry technical chief Fabrizio Pagani said Tuesday, adding that the question of the securitization of non-performing loans was "being closed". MPS, Italy's third-largest and the world's oldest bank, is being rescued by the State in a billions-of-euros move that must be approved by the EC. The bank ran into trouble after coming last in an European Central Bank stress test because of its high ratio of NPLs.