Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena S.p.A. (Italian pronunciation: [ˈmonte dei ˈpaski di ˈsjɛːna]) (MPS) is the oldest surviving bank in the world and Italy's third largest bank. Founded in 1472 by the magistrate of the city state of Siena, Italy, as a "mount of piety", it has been operating ever since. Today it has approximately 3,000^[2] branches, 33,000^[2] employees and 4.5 million customers in Italy, as well as branches and businesses abroad. A subsidiary, MPS Finance, handles investment banking.^[3] The bank's main shareholder is the Fondazione Monte dei Paschi di Siena.

History

Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena was founded by order of the Magistrature of the Republic of Siena as Monte di Pietà in 1472, when its statute was approved and from which the bank operates without interruption. It is therefore considered the oldest bank in the world still operating.

At the base of its foundation appears to be the "Statuto dei Paschi", written in 1419 for the regulation of all activities related to agriculture and pastoralism in Maremma.

Its current form dates from 1624, when Siena was incorporated in the Grand Duchy of Tuscany and the Grand Duke Ferdinando II granted to depositors of Monte, in their warranty, the income of the state-owned pastures of Maremma (the so-called "Paschi" which gave the bank its name). The bank consolidated and increased its banking activity during the XVII and XVIII centuries.

With the unification of Italy, the bank expanded its business throughout the Italian peninsula, initiating new activities, including mortgage loans, the first experience in Italy.

In 1995 a decree law of the Ministry of the Treasury of the Italian Republic dated 8 August 1995 gives rise to two institutions: Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena S.p.A and Fondazione Monte dei Paschi di Siena, a non-profit organization whose purpose is the statutory purpose of providing assistance and charity and social utility in the fields of education, science, health and art, especially with reference to the city and the province of Siena.

On 25 June 1999 Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena was listed successfully in the Italian Stock Exchange.

Expansion (2000-2006)

After its debut on the Italian Stock Exchange, the bank began an intense phase of territorial and operative expansion. The bank acquired some regional banks: Banca Agricola Mantovana and Banca del Salento. The bank had started a process to reinforcement of the structures of production in strategic market segments through the development of product companies:

• Consum.it in the sector of consumer credit.
• MPS Leasing and Factoring in the parabanking sector.
• MPS Finance in investment banking.
• MP Asset Management SGR in managed savings.
• MPS Banca Personale in financial promotion.
• MPS Banca per l’Impresa in credit for businesses and corporate finance services.

At the same time the bank upgraded its commercial productivity, with the aim of improving the level of assistance and consultancy to investors and businesses, and updated its activities in Private banking and in Private pension plans. At the conclusion of this plan of expansion the bank implemented a vast program of opening new branches of the Group, with more than 2,000 branches. In order to finance this expansion model the bank entered into some derivatives that were hidden: operations: Santorini in 2002 and Alexandria in 2006.^[4]

Antonveneta acquisition (2006-2008)

On 8 November 2007, Monte dei Paschi di Siena announced that it has reached an agreement with Banco Santander to buy Antonveneta for € 10.3 billion^[5]
excluding the subsidiary Interbanca that is owned by the Spanish bank. Antonveneta is the bank that after the Bancopoli scandal was acquired by ABN AMRO and was supposed to go to Banco Santander after the purchase of the Dutch bank by the consortium of RBS, Santander, Fortis.

Global financial crisis (2008-2012)

In the wake of rising yields and declining valuations on Italian government debt in the European sovereign-debt crisis, MPS lost over $2 billion in the first half of 2012, had to recapitalize, and faced restructuring or worse. The majority owner until the recapitalization, the Fondazione Monte dei Paschi di Siena, long resisted issuing new capital which would dilute its holding. In September 2012, even after the dilution, the bank "appear[ed] poised" also to give the national government a greater ownership stake in return for more capital.^[6]

Hidden losses and Bank of Italy bailout (2013)

In 2009, the Santorini and Alessandria operations began creating huge losses. In order to hide them in the bank's financial statements, the top management, including Giuseppe Mussari, the bank president, chose to enter into derivative contracts with Deutsche Bank and Nomura.
Estimates of the losses accumulated by the Santorini and Alessandria operations in the period leading up to the derivative contracts range from € 500 to € 750 million.^[7]
The documentation concerning these operations were never communicated to the bank's own auditors or the Banca d'Italia. The derivative contracts and related documentation were discovered and made ​​public by the new board of the bank in the end of November 2012. The documentation has been forwarded to the Banca d'Italia between December and mid January 2013.
The shareholders and the analysts have ascertained that the bank had not declared losses from derivatives.
On January 22, 2013 the bank's shares lost on the Stock Exchange 5.6% and the ex-president Mussari resigned as president of Associazione Bancaria Italiana.^[5]
On January 23, 2013 the scandal of the hidden derivatives was revealed. The bank shares dropped 8.43% on the Stock Exchange. ^[8]
On January 24, 2013 the bank shares dropped another 8% on the Stock Exchange.^[9]
On January 25, 2013 an extraordinary general meeting of the shareholders of the bank was convened. They resolved to grant the Board of Directors the power to increase the share capital by a maximum amount of € 4.5 billion to service the exercise of conversion rights of bank of the Monti Bonds. MPS called for intervention of € 3.9 billion, including € 1.9 billion for the replacement of the previous Tremonti Bonds. The delegation of the extraordinary to the Board of Directors has also included the possibility of increasing the share capital of € 2 billion at the exclusive service of the payment of interest payable in shares. He voted for more than 98%. ^[10]
After the vote, the bank recovered on the Stock Exchange 11.36% after having fallen in three sessions in three days more than 20% of the value.^[11]

On January 26, 2013, the Banca d'Italia (Bank of Italy) approved a bailout request from the bank for € 3.9 billion ($5.3 billion).^[12]

Cultural and economic-development

MPS headquarters in the Palazzo Salimbeni in Siena hosts an art collection and a large number of priceless historical documents spanning the centuries of its existence. However, this collection is not usually open to the public. Most recent publicly known acquisition of art, a gold-plated panel by Segna di Bonaventura, cost the bank nearly one million Euro.^[13] It is also internationally known as the primary sponsor of Italian basketball club Mens Sana Basket of Siena, currently in Lega A and a regular participant in the Euroleague.

In 2010, the bank was funding the expansion of a small airport in the heart of the Tuscan countryside, Siena-Ampugnano Airport, to become an international airport. Both international and local groups had raised objections to this expansion on the grounds it would damage the natural beauty of the area, the environment and the attraction of the countryside to tourism.^[14][15]

Until the Euro-crisis, profits from the bank financed the Palio di Siena, Siena's historic-building renovations and "biotech programs intended to turn the Tuscan plain into a research hub. Nearly all that money — $150 million a year, on average, from 1996 to 2010 — has evaporated" since 2010, according to a 2012 news report.^[6]

Major shareholders

Main shareholders of Monte dei Paschi di Siena, situation reported 29/08/2012:^[16]

• 37.56% Fondazione Monte dei Paschi di Siena
• 2.527% JPMorgan Chase
• 4% Aleotti Alberto, president, Menarini pharmaceuticals
• 2.727% Unicoop Firenze Società Cooperativa
• 2.052% AXA

The share owned by the Fondazione dropped from over 55% at 10/12/2009^[17] due to a 2012 recapitalization in the face of investment losses.^[6]

References

External links

• Official website
• Slide show of the bank's art collection
• Complete collection of Bank's Art Collection at Bank's site

43°19′16.24″N 11°19′50.43″E / 43.3211778°N 11.3306750°E / 43.3211778; 11.3306750