The Qatari funds and – news in recent days – the financier George Soros could become new shareholders of Monte dei Paschi when, after the referendum on the constitutional reform of 4 December, the 5 billion euro capital increase will be triggered to secure the institute led by Marco Morelli. This is what Il Sole 24 Ore reports this morning.
But before the capital increase, Mps, which is back from a dizzying week on the stock market in which the stock has recovered more than 50%, will launch the new business plan, which will be approved tomorrow by the board of directors and presented to the market and investors Tuesday by Morelli himself, engaged today in the latest insights with the advisors JP Morgan and Mediobanca.
Focus on cutting costs with reduction of personnel and branches and increase in profitability will be the two central objectives of the new business plan of the bank which will come out lightened after the sale of 27 billion of problem loans which will be grouped in a specific financial vehicle separate from the bank.
On the horizon of the bank and its capital increase, the conversion of subordinated bonds into shares remains, according to procedures to be defined and which will certainly concern institutional investors but probably also retail ones.
For now Morelli is proceeding along the lines already suggested by JP Morgan and Mediobanca in the July plan, even if widely revised and corrected, but does not exclude points of convergence with the Passera plan which remains in the bank's spotlight.
