Italy to shed residual stakes in banks, economy minister says

By Giuseppe Fonte

ROME, July 15 (Reuters) - Italy will soon unwind its stakes in domestic lenders, Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti said, indicating Rome is close to selling its 4.9% shareholding in bailed-out lender Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena (MPS).

Speaking at the annual meeting of Italy's banking lobby ABI in Rome, Giorgetti also said the government was carefully monitoring developments in the ongoing Italian banking M&A wave, an apparent nod to the €30.6 billion ($35 billion) ⁠cash-and-share bid from Intesa Sanpaolo (ISP) for MPS.

"I am confident that this will be the last ABI meeting in which the government is a shareholder in some major banks, as the role played by the public shareholder has come to an end," he said.

Giorgetti last month said an accelerated bookbuilding ​procedure (ABB) would be "one of the best solutions" to cut Italy's stake in ​MPS, while sources familiar with the matter said the Treasury had explored such an option just before Intesa made its bid official in early June.

At current market prices, the state stake in MPS is worth €1.7 billion.

A divestment from MPS before Intesa's bid starts would be consistent with the government’s stated "neutral stance" on banking M&A moves.

Banco BPM, Italy's ​fourth-largest bank, also said it wanted to open talks with MPS about a potential merger.

"I think it’s precisely so as not to influence" the consolidation process, BPM CEO Giuseppe Castagna told reporters, when asked about Giorgetti's remarks.

Italy has also taken steps to return to private hands BDM, ​a small bank rescued in several steps since late 2019.

The minister also said consolidation should improve the banking system's ability to enhance the international profile of Italian companies and encourage investment in technology, security and innovation.

Speaking at the same event, Bank of Italy Governor Fabio Panetta said mergers should preserve "competition, pluralism and banks' responsiveness to the needs of the real economy."

($1 = 0.8759 euros)

(Reporting by Giuseppe Fonte, editing by Alvise Armellini and Keith Weir)