May 18, 2018 - 3:13 AM
MILAN - Shares in troubled Italian bank Monte dei Paschi di Siena slumped after it emerged the populist parties negotiating to form a new government intend to keep the bank under state control.
Shares in Monte dei Paschi slid more than 4.3 per cent to 2.79 euros ($3.30) on Friday, a day after shedding nearly 9 per cent.
Italy's economy minister, Pier Carlo Padoan, said in a statement that the intentions of the leaders of the right-wing League and anti-establishment 5-Star Movement "have immediately created a crisis of trust" in the bank's shares. He called it "a serious matter that jeopardizes the investment made with public resources."
Monte dei Paschi is 68-per cent government owned after last year's bailout. Under European rules, state support can only be temporary.
News from © The Associated Press, 2018