Mps is making a strong recovery in Piazza Affari after yesterday's slide (-14%): the shares of the Sienese institute show the best performance among the blue chips, gaining up to 11% in the middle of the day, over 19 euros per share (then +9,6% in mid-afternoon, at 18,9 euros).
Yesterday, Monday, the voluntary conversion of the subordinated bonds into shares of the institute started and MPS received Generali's adhesion: the company's board of directors in fact "favorably evaluated" the operation. According to press rumors, Generali holds around 400 million MPS bonds, an amount which, after conversion, would translate into 8% of the capital of the Sienese institute.
Despite Generali's go-ahead, some analysts continue to underline the risks associated with MPS's capital plan. "We believe that the execution risk of the plan is high", note the analysts of Banca Imi, while the experts of Banca Akros underline that a victory of the "no" in the constitutional referendum could make the recapitalization of the institution more difficult, increasing the probability application of the "bail-in" rules. As for Generali (+0,35% on the Stock Exchange), Akros notes that the decision to convert bonds into shares "will potentially increase the riskiness of the assets", even if the operation "could be positive in the long term, if and only if the bank is relaunched”. Banca Imi, on the other hand, sees "a potential problem" in the bancassurance business, given that "'Mps is renegotiating the agreement with Axa". The entry of Generalali with 8% of the share capital could actually pose problems of conflict of interest with respect to the agreement with Axa.
