Timeline: Monte dei Paschi's path from near collapse to key role in Italy's finance

Intesa Sanpaolo

26/08/2026 07:47

Updates timeline with Intesa's bid for MPS and MPS's defensive moves on Banco BPM and Banca Generali
MILAN, Aug 26 (Reuters) - After securing control of merchant bank Mediobanca MDBI.MI in 2025, Monte dei Paschi di Siena (MPS) BMPS.MI, the world's oldest bank, last week unveiled twin bids worth a combined €34 billion ($40 billion) for Banco BPM BAMI.MI and Banca Generali BGN.MI.
The deals are an attempt by CEO Luigi Lovaglio to fend off a hostile approach from larger rival Intesa Sanpaolo ISP.MI, and mark the latest step in transforming the Tuscan lender from a symbol of Italy's banking crisis into a leading financial group.
Here is a timeline of key events in the recent history of MPS, founded in 1472:

        NOVEMBER 2007 - MPS spends €9.9 billion in cash to buy Antonveneta from Santander SAN.MC, which had bought it only months earlier for €6.6 billion.

JANUARY 2008 - MPS funds the Antonveneta deal by issuing €5.95 billion in equity, €2.16 billion in junior debt and a 1.56 €billion bridge loan.

MARCH 2009 - MPS sells €1.9 billion in special bonds to Italy's Treasury to shore up its finances.

JULY 2011 - MPS raises €2.15 billion in a rights issue ahead of European banking stress test results.

SEPTEMBER 2011 - The Bank of Italy provides €6 billion in emergency liquidity to MPS as the euro zone sovereign crisis escalates, pummelling the bank's large government bond holdings.

MARCH 2012 - MPS posts a €4.7 billion 2011 loss after goodwill writedowns on deals including Antonveneta.

JUNE 2012 - MPS asks Italy's Treasury to underwrite up to another €2 billion in special bonds.

OCTOBER 2012 - Shareholders approve a €1 billion share issue targeting new investors.

JUNE 2014 - MPS raises €5 billion in a rights issue and repays the state €3.1 billion.

OCTOBER 2014 - MPS emerges as the worst performer in Europe-wide banking stress tests.

JUNE 2015 - MPS raises €3 billion in a share issue and repays the remaining €1.1 billion state underwritten special bond.

JULY 2016 - MPS announces a new €5 billion rights issue and plans to offload €28 billion in bad loans.

DECEMBER 2016 - MPS turns to the state for help under a precautionary recapitalisation scheme after its cash call fails.

JULY 2017 - After the ECB declares MPS solvent, the EU Commission clears an €8.2 billion bailout which hands the state a 68% stake at a cost of €5.4 billion.

OCTOBER 2019 - MPS completes Europe's biggest bad loan securitisation deal.

JULY 2021 - UniCredit CRDI.MI enters exclusive talks to buy "selected parts" of MPS, a day before European banking stress test results show the latter's capital would be wiped out in a slump.

OCTOBER 2021 - Talks with UniCredit collapse.

FEBRUARY 2022 - MPS names veteran UniCredit executive Luigi Lovaglio as CEO.

OCTOBER 2022 - MPS raises €2.5 billion in a cash call at €2 a share to fund 4,000 voluntary staff exits.

NOVEMBER 2023 - Italy cuts its MPS stake to 39.2% in a share placement that meets strong demand at a price of €2.92.

MARCH 2024 - Investors pay €4.15 a share as the Treasury cuts its MPS stake to 26.7%.


        MAY 2024 - MPS pays out dividends for the first time in 13 years.

NOVEMBER 2024 - The Treasury sells 15% of MPS at €5.792 a share, bringing onboard construction tycoon Francesco Gaetano Caltagirone, the heirs of late Italian billionaire Leonardo Del Vecchio, mid-sized peer Banco BPM, and fund manager Anima Holding ANIM.MI.

JANUARY 2025 - MPS launches an unsolicited buyout offer for Mediobanca, of which Caltagirone and Del Vecchio's heirs own 27%.

FEBRUARY 2025 - MPS reports a net profit of €1.95 billion for 2024, highlighting its recovery.

SEPTEMBER 2025 - MPS completes a €16-billion takeover of merchant bank Mediobanca. Through the acquisition it also becomes the main investor in insurer Generali GASI.MI, a coveted asset in Italian finance, turning the Tuscan bank into a key M&A actor.
FEBRUARY 2026 - MPS approves Lovaglio's plan to take full control of Mediobanca and delist it, while preserving its brand.
APRIL 2026 - Lovaglio regains control of MPS after shareholders overturn a boardroom coup that had stripped him of his executive powers. The clash stemmed from his push to swiftly merge Mediobanca into MPS, which was opposed by leading shareholder Caltagirone.
JUNE 2026 - Italy's biggest bank Intesa Sanpaolo announces a €30.6 billion unsolicited cash-and-share bid on MPS to create the euro zone's second-largest lender by market value. Under Intesa's plan, MPS would be broken up. 
Intesa's bid came the day after Banco BPM, invited MPS to discuss a potential "merger of equals".
JULY 2026 - Banco BPM ends talks for a merger with MPS after its main investor, France's Credit Agricole CAGR.MI, expresses opposition to the plan.
AUGUST 2026 - MPS launches two separate all-share bids for Banco BPM and wealth manager Banca Generali in an attempt to repel Intesa's hostile takeover approach. If successful, the plan will create Italy's third largest banking group.
($1 = 0.8573 euros)

 (Reporting by Valentina Za and Giulio Piovaccari
Editing by Gavin Jones)
 ((giulio.piovaccari@thomsonreuters.com))