Italy looking to sell down stake in Monte Paschi by end of year

Italy's government is looking to offload more shares in Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena within three months as part of a plan to raise €20bn to bolster the country’s flagging finances.

“We plan on selling a further stake before the end of the year,” 's Finance Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti said in an interview pre-recorded for Bloomberg.

“The market situation of high interest rates allowed Monte Paschi to come out of its problems brilliantly, and our successful stake sales prove that.”

The placement is part of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s to sell down Italy’s company holdings and slash its debt. Rome has also partly divested from oil conglomerate Eni and is preparing to sell down its stake in Poste Italiane.

“Monte Paschi can and must play a role in shaping what the Italian banking sector will become in the future,” Giorgetti said.

Founded in 1472, Monte Paschi was bailed out in 2009 after it was hit by souring loans and ill-fated derivatives deals.

The government still holds 26.7% of the bank, down from about 64% when it began the firm’s privatisation last year. Stake sales have brought in almost €1.6bn so far.

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com