Will the next Palio dell'Assunta on August 16 in Siena be stars and stripes? The question is not a far-fetched one given that, surprisingly, the first shareholder of Monte dei Paschi, the local bank, was an American hedge fund, York Capital Management which holds a 5,025% share higher than that of the individual members of the trade union (Fintech, Fondazione Mps and Btg Pactual) which represents the reference shareholder.
This was revealed by Consob after the investigations following the bank's recent capital increase. The surprise is inevitable but up to a certain point: James Dinan, president and CEO of York Capital, knows Italian banks very well and in May he also looked at Carige.
That of the American hedge fund is an evident opening of credit to the excellent work of recovery and relaunch of the Sienese bank carried out by two top bankers such as Alessandro Profumo and Fabrizio Viola.
