(Alliance News) - In recent months, Monte dei Paschi di Siena has found itself at the center of a sensitive phase, marked by a governance reshuffle and deadlines imposed by European supervisory authorities. Following the closure of the OPS on Mediobanca, the bank is required to submit a new plan to the ECB within six months and to renew its board of directors.
In this context, international media attention has focused on the relationship between MPS management and its main shareholders, fueling reconstructions and behind-the-scenes reports that have prompted the Caltagirone group to issue an official statement.
The company linked to Francesco Gaetano Caltagirone released a statement in response to an article by Silvia Sciorilli Borrelli published today in the Financial Times, entitled "Monte dei Paschi chief at odds with billionaire investor over Mediobanca".
The note first makes it clear that "Francesco Gaetano Caltagirone has had no contact with the CEO of MPS, Luigi Lovaglio, for several weeks," thereby denying the possibility of any ongoing direct confrontation between the two figures.
According to the statement, the current phase is instead characterized by a normal internal debate within the bank's board of directors. "What has emerged in recent days in the press highlights a phase of internal discussion within the MPS board of directors," a discussion that concerns two key steps: "the industrial plan requested by the ECB within six months of the closure of the OPS on Mediobanca and the definition of the board list ahead of its renewal."
Caltagirone openly contests interpretations that link this debate to the role of major shareholders or to Mediobanca's stake in Generali. "Associating this boardroom debate with the role of a major shareholder or with Mediobanca's stake in Generali is a manipulative interpretation," the statement reads, an interpretation that would be "useful only to confuse the normal dynamics of the MPS Board."
The statement also reiterates a key point: "Cav. Caltagirone is not a member of the MPS board," an element that would render unfounded any reconstruction based on an alleged direct clash with the CEO. According to the company, such readings would end up "suggesting a supposed conflict between the bank's CEO and one of its shareholders."
The statement concludes with a question that comes across as a pointed message to those fueling certain media narratives: "Who benefits from all this?"
A question that sums up Caltagirone's position and rekindles the debate about MPS's internal dynamics at a crucial moment for the future of the Siena-based institution.
On Friday, Caltagirone shares were down 1.5% at EUR10.00 per share, Monte dei Paschi fell 2.8% to EUR8.95 per share, and Mediobanca retreated 1.7% to EUR17.48 per share.
By Maurizio Carta, Alliance News reporter
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