Italy's MPS rises after CEO Lovaglio reappointment, BPM backing fuels M&A hopes

Banco BPM SpA

16/04/2026 09:45

** Shares in Italy's Monte dei Paschi (MPS) BMPS.MI rise around 3% after the bank's investors voted to reinstate Luigi Lovaglio as CEO, settling a boardroom clash which initially saw him ousted from the group

** Lovaglio's supporters - which included top shareholder Delfin and Italian peer Banco BPM BAMI.MI - won eight board seats, while the opposing slate secured six

** "We believe that Banco BPM’s positioning could fuel expectations of a possible merger between the two banks, thereby increasing the speculative appeal of BMPS," says broker Equita

** Shares in Banco BPM - which maintains a stake of 3.7% in MPS - are up 3.3%

** Mediobanca - at the heart of the investor dispute, as Lovaglio plans to take the merchant bank private after a 16 billion euro acquisition last year - gains 3.9%

** The three banks are the best performing stocks on Italy's blue-chip index .FTMIB, which rises 0.2%

 (Enrico Sciacovelli)

 ((Enrico.sciacovelli@thomsonreuters.com))