ROME: Italian bank Monte dei Paschi di Siena gave the go-ahead on Friday to a ¤5bn equity raising that will boost its capital and allow it to repay a government bailout this year.
The bank said in a statement the share sale would give it a strong enough “capital buffer” to withstand EU bank stress tests in the current climate of “high uncertainty and limited visibility”.
The increase will also allow the lender to speed up a restructuring plan, due to be completed by 2017.
The Tuscan bank has to pay back by the end of the year some ¤4bn in credit it received from the Italian government last year to stave off bankruptcy.
Chief executive Fabrizio Viola told Italian news channel SkyTG24 that the share sale would be carried out “starting in mid-June until mid-July”.
AFP
