Premier Giorgia Meloni said
Saturday that, while Monte dei Paschi di Siena's (MPS)
13.3-billion-euro takeover bid for Mediobanca was a "market
operation", her government could be satisfied that the
once-troubled Tuscan bank was in a position to be able to
attempt such an operation.
The economy ministry is MPS's biggest shareholder as it still
has a 11.2% stake after a 2013 bailout.
Mediobanca has said it considers MPS's bid to be 'hostile'.
"On the one hand we should be proud of the fact that MPS, which
was seen by citizens and politicians only as a problem to be
solved for years, is today a perfectly restored bank which is
actually starting ambitious operations," Meloni said in Jeddah
before boarding the Italian Navy's training ship the Amerigo
Vespucci in the Saudi Arabian port.
"This should make us all proud of the work done.
"If the operation goes through, we are talking about the
creation of the third banking hub, which could play an important
role in securing the savings of Italian people."
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