After the rumors is arconfirmed official. Through a joint note, the Ministry of Economy and Unicredit announced the end of the negotiations relating to theacquisition of Monte dei Paschi.
“Despite the efforts made by both parties, UniCredit and the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) communicate the interruption of the negotiations relating to the potential acquisition of a defined perimeter of Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena”. This is the text of the note which does not disclose the reasons for the breakup.
According to rumors, the two sides would not have been able to reach an agreement on several crucial points touched upon during the negotiations, but the point of no return would have been reached on the figures relating to the recapitalization plan worth over 7 billion, a figure that the Treasury allegedly deemed “too punitive” for taxpayers. The decision to interrupt the negotiations would also have been influenced by the impossibility of reaching an agreement based on the conditions set in July, which envisaged the acquisition by Unicredit of "selected parts" of Monte dei Paschi, with no impact on the capital of the Milan bank. Finally, the two parties would not have even agreed on the job cuts and on the mechanism for calculating the liabilities of the Sienese institute. In short, the positions would seem to be further away than ever.
The note arrived a few days after October 27, the day on which the Unicredit board of directors will be held, called to approve the quarterly report and on the eve of the reopening of the stock exchanges, where tomorrow a day of fire is expected for the two banks.
All to be redone therefore, with the future of Mps that once again hangs in the balance. The Treasury will have to look for another market solution and it will have to do it quickly because the time allowed by the EU Commission to Italy to privatize Monte dei Paschi expires in mid-2022, even if the request for an extension now seems almost obvious. The bank would also need another liquidity injection, necessary to fill a capital deficit that the supervisory authorities had estimated at around 3 billion euros, based on the 2021 half-yearly accounts.
According to the mayor of Siena, Luigi De Mossi, “Mps is a heritage of the country not only of the city. It would not be a scandal to ask Europe for an extension for the state to stay in MPS. As we unfortunately know well, given what happened to Monte in the past, the right amount of time is needed for this type of operation".
