Behind the blitz summons of the MPS assembly on 19 July there is an explicit request from the Treasury. This was revealed by the Sienese bank's board of directors in the shareholders' report for the meeting published yesterday. "In the event of non-compliance with the obligations undertaken - wrote the Treasury in a letter to Siena - the European Commission could consider the aforementioned public financial intervention not compatible with the Community framework on state aid and order its recovery". The July assembly is a fundamental hub for the definitive evaluation of the Monti bonds by Brussels, which will have time until the end of August to study the new Monte dei Paschi plan in detail (the deadline for filing the new industrial plan with the European Commission expired yesterday at midnight).
The plan that the bank presented in Brussels foreseesand in fact also a capital increase, authorized up to one billion, to bring in one or more new partners, with which to repay part of the aid received. For the Treasury, which is the guarantor of the bank's recovery to the EU, it is necessary to make possible the capital increase of one billion to be offered to new shareholders by removing "any potential obstacle to the implementation" of the plan linked to the Monti bonds. E The abolition of the 4% limit would increase the ability to attract potential interested investors. Especially since the removal of any potential obstacle "is induced by the same need for flexibility that led MPS to use the instrument of the capital increase by proxy - explains the board in the report - allowing market opportunities to be seized from time to time without having to resort to new shareholders' authorizations". This would be applicable to any other capital strengthening operation that "could arise in the near future", just as different operations could benefit from it. In any case, if recent rumors hypothesized an increase from one to two billion, Siena from the Foundation let it be known that there has not yet been a meeting with the bank's top management on the matter.
IThe document on the new industrial plan was forwarded to the Commission through the Ministry of the Economy and Finance, as confirmed today by the Sienese bank in a note. The plan updates the previous one, whose guidelines included the 4,7 billion Monti bond, a one billion share capital increase, the closure of 400 branches by 2015 (200 already completed) and the exit of 1.660 employees in the first half 2013 (almost completed). And, according to rumors, it would foresee a new squeeze on costs, with new redundancies and the creation of a newco for the back office, and the strengthening of capital. The note released today by the bank specified that the changes made to the original plan will be communicated only after the approval of the document by the European Commission.
Meanwhile, the former leaders fined on 28 March for over 5 million euros from the Bank of Italy for various violations they just yesterday appealed to the TAR. Among these are Mussari, Vigni and Gian Luca Baldassarri. The hearing has been set for 3 July for the appeals proposed by the former president and by Baldassarri, while the hearing is pending for the others.
