By Valentina Za and Giuseppe Fonte MILAN, Jan 28 (Reuters) - Monte dei Paschi di Siena (MPS) said on Wednesday it had approved rules allowing all of its directors to take part in the process of
Monte dei Paschi Eases Path for CEO Lovaglio's Reappointment
Monte dei Paschi's Board and CEO Developments
By Valentina Za and Giuseppe Fonte
Judicial Probe and Its Implications
MILAN, Jan 28 (Reuters) - Monte dei Paschi di Siena (MPS) said on Wednesday it had approved rules allowing all of its directors to take part in the process of drawing up a list of candidates for a renewal of the bank’s board.
Mediobanca Acquisition Overview
This removes a potential obstacle to the reappointment of Chief Executive Luigi Lovaglio, whose mandate expires in April.
Shareholder Dynamics and Support
Lovaglio has been at risk of being excluded from the process to select new board nominees because of a judicial probe into the MPS's takeover of larger rival Mediobanca, two people with knowledge of the matter told Reuters, amid divisions within the board over Mediobanca's future.
Lovaglio led MPS during last year's Mediobanca deal and is seeking another term to oversee the integration of the two banks.
MPS gained control of 86% of Mediobanca via a 16 billion euro ($19 billion) share-and-cash offer. The take-up of the deal exceeded expectations and raises the prospect of a full acquisition to delist Mediobanca, in line with the bid's prospectus.
MPS, which was rescued by the Italian government in 2017, was returned to private hands in 2023-2024. This brought on board as shareholders the Del Vecchio family's Delfin investment vehicle and construction magnate Francesco Gaetano Caltagirone.
Delfin and Caltagirone later boosted their holdings and provided support for the Mediobanca takeover - the largest deal so far in a consolidation wave sweeping Italian banking.
Mediobanca's future strategy has become a flashpoint for the MPS board, where five members were replaced after Delfin and Caltagirone became shareholders, with the construction billionaire gaining two seats.
Caltagirone has so far declined to align with Delfin and the Italian Treasury, which holds 4.9% of MPS, in supporting a new term for Lovaglio.
MPS must submit to European Central Bank supervisors a strategy for the combined group by early March.
($1 = 0.8382 euros)
(Reporting by Valentina Za and Giuseppe Fonte. Editing by Jane Merriman)
