Italy to hand Monte dei Paschi CEO Lovaglio new mandate - sources
25/03/2023 07:50
MILAN, March 25 (Reuters) - Italy's Treasury is set to
hand veteran banker Luigi Lovaglio a new mandate as chief
executive of state-owned lender Monte dei Paschi di Siena
BMSP.MI , two people with knowledge of the matter said.
Lovaglio, who built his career at UniCredit CRDI.MI where
he eventually rose to lead the group's former Polish unit Bank
Pekao, arrived at Monte dei Paschi (MPS) just over a year ago,
when the Treasury pushed out his predecessor.
The state owns 64% of MPS following a 2017 bailout.
Lovaglio, one of Italy's most experienced commercial
bankers, in November oversaw a make-or-break 2.5 billion euro
($2.7 billion) capital raise which allowed MPS to bolster
capital and fund voluntary layoffs.
Lovaglio has pledged to boost MPS' profitability as he works
to prepare the bank for a merger that would allow the state to
meet re-privatisation commitments taken with European Union
competition authorities at the time of the bailout.
The sources said the Treasury would also appoint as chairman
Nicola Maione, a lawyer who has been sitting on MPS' board since
2017 and has previously chaired the board of state-controlled
air traffic controller Enav ENAV.MI .
With MPS shareholders due to vote to appoint new directors
next month, the Treasury - as the single biggest shareholder in
the bank - is preparing to file in the coming hours its slate of
nominees for the Tuscan lender's board.
($1 = 0.9295 euros)
(Reporting by Valentina Za and Valentina Za; Editing by Michael
Perry)
((valentina.za@thomsonreuters.com; +39 02 6612 9526;))