ROME (Reuters) – Italy will meet its commitment to sell its controlling stake in Monte dei Paschi di Siena
Rome owns 68% of the Tuscan bank following an 8-billion euro ($9.07 billion) rescue in 2017 and has promised the European Commission it will re-privatise the bank next year.
“Of course we will respect the deadline,” Gualtieri said in an interview with Bloomberg television, declining to comment on reports of a merger between Monte Paschi and any other bank.
In other remarks, Gualtieri said he did not believe that Italy would risk any market stigma if it applied for a loan from the euro zone’s ESM bailout fund, adding the government would decide at a later date whether to seek a credit line.
($1 = 0.8820 euros)
(Reporting by Gavin Jones; editing by Angelo Amante)
