World's oldest bank up for sale

PanARMENIAN.Net - The world's oldest bank is up for sale, The Telegraph says.

Monte dei Paschi di Siena, Italy's third largest lender, reportedly hired advisers to find a buyer for the bank, after the European Central Bank's recent asset quality review found a €2.1bn black hole in its accounts.

Earlier this week, the bank's board met following last month's stress tests and approved a €2.5bn rights issue in order to plug the gap.

It does not intend to do this until next year, however, and management believes a sale or merger of the bank in the meantime could prevent a fundraising, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Should it be sold, one of the most historic names in banking could potentially be lost. Monte dei Paschi was founded in 1472, and is generally believed to be the world's oldest bank, serving as a symbol of Siena's wealth for centuries.

However, Italy's tumultuous economic record since the financial crisis threatens its existence. The bank has already completed several rights issues, and has not made a profit since 2011, while shares have collapsed in recent years.

It is unclear whether the bank will be able to find a buyer. Mooted candidates including Santander and Credit Agricole appear unkeen, although a merger with another Italian bank might be a possibility.

Monte dei Paschi was the worst of the 25 banks to fail the ECB's stress tests at the end of October, and was ordered to announce its response by the end of this week. It said Citi and UBS would be advising the bank on implementing this, as well as "for the purpose of evaluating further strategic alternatives".