A decisive mid-August is approaching for the fate of Mps. According to rumors reported by Corriere della Sera, on Thursday 10th the ECB will give the final go-ahead to the plan to rescue Montepaschi. It is no coincidence that the Sienese Bank has convened a meeting of the Board of Directors for the following day, precisely in the hours in which the Palio dell'Assunta will be held in Piazza del Campo, which in all probability will only have to certify the acquisition of the green light by of Frankfurt.
Once these last formal steps have been taken, the operation can go live. In truth, in Siena they have already moved forward with the work: last week the Board of Directors passed the measures relating to the capital increase and the change of statute. Now only the approval of the Eurotower is awaited before requesting the registration of the resolutions in the register of companies.
The next action will be up to the government, which - based on the decree already in force - is ready to pay 3,85 billion into the coffers of the MPS, becoming the first shareholder with 53,4 percent. The State's participation should then rise to 70%, once it detaches the repayments to savers involved in the institution's losses and in exchange withdraws the shares that they have found in their hands.
After which, in September, an extraordinary shareholders' meeting will probably be convened to kick off the dedicated capital increase. Not only that: it is likely that the revolution in the ownership structure will also lead to a redesign of Montepaschi's board of directors in the autumn. The CEO Marco Morelli, indicated a year ago by the government, will in all probability remain in his place. The roles of representation of the equity partners should instead be redistributed.
In the same days, the return to quotations of the MPS share on the Stock Exchange is expected, suspended since 22 December last year at 15,08 euros.
Meanwhile, a preliminary examination of the accounts would have revealed a new hole to fill: Mps Capital Service, a subsidiary of the group specializing in corporate finance, would need an injection of 898 million by November after having recorded a loss last year from 770 million.
