Reuters reported that Monte dei Paschi di Siena would be announcing a turnaround plan next week in a bid to avoid nationalization. The bank would need to meet the demands of the European Union so that it could attract investors. In February, Monte Paschi already availed of state loans worth EUR 4.1 billion or USD 5.5 billion.
Regulators already told the bank to conduct a capital increase next year worth EUR 2.5 billion. However, an analyst said this might be challenging for the lender. Societe Generale Analyst Carlo Tommaselli said, "At the moment there seems to be little interest in Monte dei Paschi among investors, either from a strategic or financial view point.The execution risk ... is high."
EU Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia had already said that Monte Paschi failed to raise funds from the investors then the government would have to take over. The government would convert the loans of Monte Paschi's into shares to become the bank's owner.
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