Mps continues in the negative spiral. After failing stress tests, the title loses even today more than 3% in mid-afternoon in Piazza Affari, falling to 0,77 euro. The Rocca Salimbeni bank lost 23% in the last month alone (despite a strong recovery at the end of last week) and after 542 years – it is the oldest institution in the world – it will most likely have to say goodbye to its independence.
This was confirmed to Radiocor by the president of Mps himself, Alessandro Profumo: "The goal of being alone must be reconsidered". Profumo in June two years ago, during the presentation of the first industrial plan of the new management, launched the slogan "Siena 2020", a completely renovated bank that would change the way of communicating with customers. That objective, after 30 months, is practically aborted: “Considering the situation, it must be reconsidered. In spite of myself”, points out the president, according to whom, on the road to a possible aggregation “nothing is precluded”.
“We only have a week” explains Profumo, who is also busy in meetings with the banking unions for the renewal of the national contract. As a first measure, the bank identified the postponement of the repayment of the residual Monti Bonds, equal to 1 billion. The bonds have no maturity date and the commitment to return them by 2017 had been made with Brussels in the restructuring plan ignored by the ECB in applying the stress test standards. The regulation of the Monti bonds also provides for the conversion into shares, at Siena's request, but on this point Profumo's "no comment" is dry today.
A possible conversion would bring the Treasury with the current prices of the security to 30% of the capital. Net of the Monti Bonds, Monte has a residual shortfall of 1,350 million to fill. One of the ways to do this is an aggregation with an Italian or foreign partner, but Profumo does not mention any names. Meanwhile Consob intervened again on the matter, declaring through the words of the president Giuseppe Vegas that it did not envisage further measures on MPS shares after it banned operators on Monday evening from taking net short positions on MPS and Carige until 10 November following the strong volatility on the Stock Exchange. "I would say that there shouldn't be any more because it seems to me that, even today, the market is not unfavourable," Vegas said of any new interventions.
