MPS faces board vote as funds and major shareholders clash

(Alliance News) - Tensions are running high in Siena ahead of the Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena shareholders' meeting, convened to renew the board of directors in a particularly heated climate.

As reported by Corriere della Sera in Monday's L'Economia supplement, the most significant developments in recent weeks include the for-cause dismissal of former CEO Luigi Lovaglio and the stance taken by the Norwegian sovereign wealth fund, Norges Bank Investment Management. The fund has decided to back the slate presented by Pierluigi Tortora's PLT Energia group with its 2.4% stake, which proposes Lovaglio himself for the role of CEO.

Barring a broader alignment of other funds with this position, the slate put forward by the outgoing board remains the likely winner. However, the shareholder structure remains a decisive factor: the group linked to Francesco Gaetano Caltagirone has bolstered its stake to 13.5%, while Delfin, the holding company of the Leonardo Del Vecchio heirs, remains the top shareholder with over 17%. The Ministry of Economy and Finance, the third-largest shareholder with just under 5%, has indicated its intention to abstain.

The scenario remains fluid, also in light of potential guidance from the European Central Bank, which could influence the decisions of major international investors. Within this context lies the position of the Caltagirone group, which is close to controlling the Sienese lender and, indirectly, Mediobanca, the primary shareholder of Assicurazioni Generali.

The outcome will also be affected by the regulatory framework introduced by the 2024 Capital Law, which provides for a potential second round of voting should the board's slate prevail in the first. This mechanism could facilitate further shifts, especially given the presence of prominent international figures such as Corrado Passera on the outgoing board's list. In a second phase, Italian shareholders like Banco BPM, which holds 3.7%, as well as Edizione and Delfin itself, could prove instrumental.

Conversely, if the PLT slate were to prevail, no second round is scheduled. Finally, the possibility of Lovaglio joining the board remains open: it remains to be seen whether he will accept the appointment or consider his tenure at the bank to be at an end.

By Antonio Di Giorgio, Alliance News reporter

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