Monte dei Paschi ask the state for help. According to rumors released by the Radiocor agency, today the Bank of Italy will authorize the Institute to issue Tremonti bonds up to one billion euro. The bonds will be subscribed by the Treasury, which declined to comment on the news. While awaiting the go-ahead from Palazzo Koch, the Bank has the Board of Directors on the industrial plan has been postponed from today to tomorrow. Also on the agenda is the sale of the majority stake in Biver to the Cassa di Risparmio di Asti.
In Piazza Affari, MPS shares turn negative in mid-morning, dropping more than 2% and aligning with the losses recorded by the banking sector. At the start, the stock had held up thanks to the agreement reached over the weekend between the shareholder Fondazione MPS and the lending banks for the renegotiation of the debt.
By June 30, Montepaschi needs 3,2 billion euros to meet the capital requirements imposed by the EBA, the European banking authority. Mps covered a large part of the shortfall: approximately 2-2,2 billion are already on the plate thanks to capital management actions (priority allocation of the Fresh 2003 and 2008 convertible loans), the provision of 2012 profits, the adoption of advanced models for risk weighting on activity, the sale for approximately 200 million of 60% of Biverbanca (a transaction not yet formalized but considered completed).
Two and a half years ago Rocca Salimbeni has already issued 1,9 billion euro Tremonti-bond, which are allocated, on the basis of supervisory rules, to tier one bank assets. Among the other hypotheses circulated in recent days, there was also the possible issue of Co.Co bond, but Tremonti-bonds are less dilutive on earnings per share.
The Bank's management instead has recourse to the capital increase is always excluded. The hypothesis appears impractical since the reference shareholder, the MPS Foundation (36,3% of the capital), not having the resources to participate, would be forced to dilute its share. To reduce the debt with the banks, the Foundation has already renounced the majority of voting rights, also reducing its stake by about 13%.
