Italy’s Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena should delay its plans to raise €2.5 billion in capital, Giorgia Meloni’s top economic adviser recommended.
“We need to push back the decision on the capital increase,” Maurizio Leo, who coordinates the economics and finance department of Meloni’s far-right Brothers of Italy party, told Bloomberg in an interview. “It is a difficult time and it is better to wait for the new government.”
Monte dei Paschi, the world’s oldest bank, received a €5.4 billion rescue package from the Italian government in 2017. It is now seeking to cut about 4,000 jobs in an effort to boost capital reserves and profitability. Rome, which now has a stake of about 64 percent in the bank, has said it is prepared to inject more money as part of the planned capital increase.
Meloni’s party is currently polling in first place, estimated to receive 25 percent of the votes in the general election set for September 25, ahead of the left-wing Democratic Party, polling at 22 percent.
“Paschi’s is an important operation, that needs to protect both jobs and a strategic asset for Italian economy,” Leo said.