Italy’s Monte dei Paschi denies ECB notice on deadline
FRANKFURT — Shares in troubled Italian bank Monte dei Paschi di Siena plunged Friday following news reports that the bank’s request for more time to raise new capital from investors had been rejected by regulators. But the bank said it hadn’t received official notification and was planning to hold another board meeting on Sunday.
MPS, as Monte dei Paschi di Siena is known, had been given until the end of the month to raise 5 billion euros ($5.4 billion) in capital. The bank asked the European Central Bank for a delay until Jan. 20 due to political uncertainty ushered in by the resignation of Prime Minister Matteo Renzi this week.
In a statement late Friday after an emergency board meeting, the bank said it hadn’t “received any communication” from the ECB and was continuing its normal activity as a result. It called another meeting for Sunday.
Shares in MPS fell 10.6 per cent Friday to 19.50 euros after being down as much as 16 per cent and temporarily suspended from trading.