Latest news with #MonteDeiPaschi
Reuters
2 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
UniCredit CEO, Mediobanca executive give testimony in Monte dei Paschi share probe, source says
MILAN, June 18 (Reuters) - Milan state prosecutors have heard testimony from UniCredit CEO Andrea Orcel and a Mediobanca executive as they look into the government's sale of a 15% stake in Monte dei Paschi di Siena ( opens new tab to a small group of investors in November, a source with knowledge of the matter said. The source, speaking anonymously as the investigation is ongoing, did not say when the pair were questioned and emphasised that neither were under investigation. Mediobanca ( opens new tab declined to comment. A representative for UniCredit ( opens new tab was not immediately able to comment. The Treasury was looking to build a stable core of domestic shareholders in MPS which it rescued in 2017, according to sources ahead of the sale. It sold stakes to Banco BPM , fund manager Anima Holding ( opens new tab, construction tycoon Francesco Gaetano Caltagirone and the holding company of late Ray-Ban owner Leonardo Del Vecchio. Soon after buying its stake, BPM became a takeover target of UniCredit as Orcel moved to thwart government plans to promote a tie-up between BPM and Tuscan bank MPS. The Financial Times reported last year that UniCredit sought in vain to buy a 10% stake in MPS during the sale process. The Economy Ministry said the sale was handled "transparently". It is not known which alleged crimes Milan prosecutors are investigating or who is under investigation. UniCredit is now locked in a legal battle with the government over conditions Rome has imposed on its bid for Banco BPM. Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti has threatened to resign if the government were to budge on the conditions. On Wednesday, Giorgetti declined to answer when asked if anyone from his ministry was under investigation over the MPS stake placement. "Prosecutors do their job, what can I say?," he told reporters on the sidelines of a parliamentary hearing. The takeover war unfolding in Italy and the role the government is playing has raised alarm bells in the European Union and has disconcerted investors. On Thursday, a ruling on UniCredit's takeover of BPM is expected from EU competition authorities, who are looking into the conditions Italy has set. A separate EU scrutiny of how Italy vets banking deals is ongoing and could lead to fines. As part of the Milan investigation police has secured documents relating to the transaction from the offices of Banca Akros, the broker that handled the process which is a Banco BPM subsidiary. Banca Akros has said it handled the process "correctly and transparently", fully complying with applicable regulations.
Reuters
13-06-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Italian prosecutors probe government sale of Monte dei Paschi stake, sources say
MILAN, June 13 (Reuters) - Italian prosecutors are looking into the government's sale of a 15% stake in Monte dei Paschi di Siena ( opens new tab last November to a small group of investors, and had police fetch documents relating to the transaction, two sources with knowledge of the matter said. The economy ministry sold the stake through an accelerated bookbuilding (ABB) procedure. The sources did not provide details on what part of the process is being probed. The Treasury was looking to build a stable core of domestic shareholders in Monte dei Paschi, which it rescued in 2017 and had been returning to private hands, sources told Reuters before the November stake sale. Banco BPM took a 5% stake, fund manager Anima Holding took 3% and construction tycoon Francesco Gaetano Caltagirone and the holding company of late Ray-Ban owner Leonardo Del Vecchio each took 3.5% of the Tuscan bank. The ABB process was handled by Banca Akros, the investment banking unit of Banco BPM. Banco BPM, Banca Akros and Delfin were not immediately available for a comment. A representative Caltagirone declined to comment. The sale was carried out at a premium to market prices, which was good for taxpayers, despite the fact that fewer investors than normal were involved in the process. Usually such placements involve more bidders but offer a discount. Previous placements of Monte dei Paschi shares by the Treasury had brought onboard dozens of foreign funds as investors. Since the November placement, Caltagirone and Delfin have increased their respective stakes becoming the top two shareholders in Monte dei Paschi. Italian banking is seeing a raft of takeover offers, causing upheaval in the sector. Italy's second-biggest bank UniCredit ( opens new tab has bid to buy smaller rival Banco BPM, meeting opposition from the government. Banco BPM has bought Anima. Monte dei Paschi has bid for Mediobanca ( opens new tab which in turn has bid for private bank Banca Generali ( opens new tab. ($1 = 0.8671 euros)
Reuters
10-06-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Banca Mediolanum sees no impact from Mediobanca bid for Banca Generali
MILAN, June 10 (Reuters) - Italian asset manager Banca Mediolanum ( opens new tab sees no impact on its business whatever the outcome of merchant bank Mediobanca's ( opens new tab bid for private bank Banca Generali ( opens new tab, its CEO Massimo Doris said on Tuesday. "Whether they merge or not does not affect Banca Mediolanum either way. We operate in a sector that is performing very well," Doris told Sky TG24. Mediobanca in April proposed buying Banca Generali from insurer Generali ( opens new tab as it seeks to stave off a buyout bid from Monte dei Paschi di Siena (MPS) ( opens new tab.
Reuters
06-06-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Four former Monte Paschi executives to stand trial in bad loans case
MILAN, June 6 (Reuters) - An Italian judge has ordered four former executives of bank Monte dei Paschi di Siena ( opens new tab to stand trial for alleged false accounting in 2015 and the first half of 2016 over the classification of impaired loans, judicial and legal sources said on Friday. Former presidents Alessandro Profumo and Massimo Tononi, former CEO Fabrizio Viola, and ex-accounting manager Arturo Betunio are set to face charges of false accounting and market manipulation at a Milan court on Oct. 16. Lawyers for the four did not immediately respond to requests for comment, but all have consistently denied wrongdoing. The case marks the latest development in a series of legal proceedings linked to the troubled Tuscan lender's 2017 rescue. Milan prosecutors have alleged that false accounting from 2014 to 2017 was used to obscure the bank's insolvency, which would have blocked its state bailout, according to judicial documents. Milan judge Fiammetta Modica on Friday cleared five other MPS executives, including former presidents Alessandro Falciai and Stefania Bariatti, and former CEO Marco Morelli, of all charges related to the other years under investigations. Prosecutors had previously requested no proceedings for these periods. The alleged offence relates to the misclassification of loans as "performing" rather than "impaired". Italy pumped 5.4 billion euros ($6.15 billion) into MPS in 2017 under a so-called precautionary recapitalisation. Under European Union rules, this applies only to viable companies, so that public money is not used to cover any actual or expected losses. The European Central Bank conducted a health check on MPS at the time to unlock state aid in compliance with EU competition rules. Italy's Treasury negotiated the bailout terms with the European Commission and eventually committed to reducing its stake in the bank, which after the bailout stood at 68%. Under CEO Luigi Lovaglio, the bank has restructured, benefiting from higher interest rates and lower costs. Lovaglio raised 2.5 billion euros in late 2022 to fund redundancies. In October 2023 Italy's Supreme Court confirmed an appeals court's ruling that overturned a previous verdict and acquitted all defendants of charges related to derivatives deals that prosecutors alleged had helped MPS hide losses. In December 2023, MPS's former CEO and chairman were also acquitted on appeal, after serving six years in prison in a related case. The verdict was upheld by Italy's Supreme Court in February 2025. ($1 = 0.8776 euros)
Reuters
05-06-2025
- Business
- Reuters
MPS CEO upbeat on Mediobanca bid take-up, but crossing 50% enough for tax benefits
MILAN, June 5 (Reuters) - Monte dei Paschi ( opens new tab CEO Luigi Lovaglio on Thursday expressed confidence on a high take-up for his bank's bid for Mediobanca ( opens new tab, although a level of 50% plus one share is sufficient to unlock tax benefits and reward investors. Speaking to Sky TG 24, Lovaglio said he saw no reason why banking supervisors should subject the Monte dei Paschi bid to minimum take-up thresholds. "It hasn't done so with any of the bids, so I don't think it's an issue. I'm confident we can launch the offer in early July and reach a good take-up," he said. By securing half of Mediobanca's capital plus one share, MPS can consolidate their financial accounts and unlock 1.2 billion euros ($1.4 billion) in tax credits, boosting profits and increasing shareholder remuneration. "We're determined to reach the take-up threshold [of 66.67%] we're currently targeting," he added. ($1 = 0.8750 euros)
