Italy’s Monte dei Paschi di Siena is reportedly up for sale, after the European Central Bank’s (ECB) recent asset quality review disclosed a 2.1bn funding gap in its accounts.
The bank has hired investment bankers at UBS and Citigroup to find a buyer or merger partner, people familiar with the development told The Wall Street Journal.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Access deeper industry intelligence
Experience unmatched clarity with a single platform that combines unique data, AI, and human expertise.
Last week, the bank’s board met following last month’s stress tests and approved a 2.5bn rights issue in order to plug the gap.
The lender’s goal is to find a buyer or merger partner before the so-called rights offering is actually consummated, possibly making that offering unnecessary, sources told the publication.
However, it isn’t clear how much Monte dei Paschi might fetch in any sale.
