Mps down with the banks, countdown to the shareholders' meeting begins

(Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - Banca Mps weak at Piazza Affari, along with the credit sector, on fears that the Italian economy will suffer a sharp slowdown due to the uncertainty caused by the Trump administration's policy on tariffs. Stocks, which collapsed after the announcement on the tariffs on 2 April, reared their heads again on Thursday, only to suffer again on Friday, dropping almost three points. In the meantime, the countdown has begun for the shareholders' meeting to be held next week, on 17 April, to approve the bank's 2024 financial statements and the capital increase to service the public exchange offer launched on Mediobanca in January.

The games in view of the meeting are done, since the securities purchased after 9 April fail to give the possibility to participate in the meeting. The outcome of the vote on the capital increase to service the takeover bid on Mediobanca is far from a foregone conclusion, although the big shareholders, namely the Mef, Delfin and Francesco Gaetano Caltagirone will presumably vote in favour, reaching almost 30% of the capital. It will have to be seen how Banco Bpm and Anima Holding , which together hold 9% of the voting rights, but according to observers should approve the transaction, thus pushing the share of those in favour to almost 40%. It is fair to assume that the shareholder foundations - from Mps to Cariplo to Compagnia di Sanpaolo, all supervised by the MEF - will also vote yes, with a total share of just over 1%. However, the funds' vote is uncertain.

Meanwhile, Bloomberg reported that Pimco, which holds about 1.5% of Mps' shares, will vote in favour, siding with Algebris as well, as founder Davide Serra had reported in recent days. By contrast, the New York City Controller fund, with a 0.16% stake in Mps, said it was against the increase, as did the Florida State Board of Administration, with 0.13%, and the Calvert fund. Contrasting indications came from the proxy advisors: while Glass Lewis recommended that Mps shareholders vote in favour, Iss advised voting against. It should be remembered that the capital increase to service the Mediobanca bid will have to reach 66% of the votes in favour of those present at the meeting.

On the Stock Exchange, the exchange rate between Mps shares and those of Mediobanca widened to 2.39 times, after it had almost reached 2.3 times in recent days, exactly the one proposed by Siena for Mediobanca. In any case, the ceo of Siena's bank, Luigi Lovaglio, said that the exchange rate will be confirmed: 'At the current level I think the offer is correct.