Mps chooses new Board of Directors: Plt Holding's list with CEO Lovaglio wins

The composition of the new Mps board has been announced. It will be made up of eight members drawn from the list promoted by Plt Holding, six from the Board of Directors' list and one from the Assogestioni group. For Plt's list, the president candidate Cesare Bisoni, the outgoing CEO Luigi Lovaglio, Flavia Mazzarella, Livia Amidani Alberti, Massimo Di Carlo, Patrizia Albano, Carlo Corradini and Paola Leoni Borali will join the board.

Fabrizio Palermo, Nicola Maione, Corrado Passera, Carlo Vivaldi, Paolo Boccardelli and Antonella Centra joined the Board of Directors list.

The shareholders' meeting decided: the Plt list won for the new board with 49.95 per cent of the capital. The Board's list came second, with 38 per cent of the votes

The shareholders also overwhelmingly say 'yes' to the appointment of two vice-presidents for the next three years: 97.8% of the capital voted yes. They will now move on to the most eagerly awaited item on the agenda: the appointment of the members of the Board of Directors with the vote on the lists presented and the eventual further individual vote, should the Board of Directors' list win.

The MPS shareholders' meeting resumed its work after the lunch break. The shareholders' meeting voted in favour of setting 15 as the number of members that will make up the Board of Directors for the next three years: the proposal passed with the favourable vote of 98.25% of the capital present. The determination of the number of members of the Board of Directors for the financial years 2026-2027-2028 was the fourth of the 11 items on the agenda.

The shareholders' meeting of Mps rejected the liability action brought by Blubell Partners, holder of 25 shares in the bank, against chairman Nicola Maione and former CEO Luigi Lovaglio, to whom the company led by Giuseppe Bivona contested the way in which the Mediobanca acquisition was accounted for. Against the liability action against Maione was expressed by 94.49% of the capital present, that against Lovaglio was rejected by 96.49% of the capital.

A little 'yellow' about the capital present at the Monte dei Paschi assembly. Chairman Maione announced at the opening that 64.11% of the capital was present. However, up to yesterday, and thus on the eve of the meeting, voting requests had been deposited, in attendance or by proxy, amounting to 68.26% of the capital. Therefore, an 'abundant' 4% of deposited shares, which were withdrawn on the eve of the meeting, are missing. This means that one or more shareholders with substantial holdings withdrew at the last.

The shareholders' meeting, as expected, voted in favour of the first item on the agenda, the 2025 budget. A positive vote was cast by 99.62% of the capital. Attention is focused in particular on the items on the agenda relating to the renewal of the board.

The Mps Foundation, which holds a stake of around 0.2% in the balance sheet, will vote in favour of the Mps budget but has decided not to take part in the vote on the items on the bank's agenda relating to the renewal of the board of directors. This was stated by the entity's chairman, Carlo Rossi, during his speech at the meeting. The outgoing board of directors, he says, says that there is a need for discontinuity, 'frankly, we do not have sufficient elements to express a complete judgement'.

In his opening remarks, outgoing Mps chairman Nicola Maione - who is a candidate for renewal on the board of directors list - recalled the 'path of these years' of Mps, which today has 'become one of the most solid and competitive realities on the Italia scene'.

A result made 'possible thanks to the commitment and dedication of the women and men who are part of it'. "We have believed in a common project, working together with determination to make it concrete and long-lasting over time," the president continued, "and for this I would like to thank all the members for their continuous and constant trust in the Board of Directors, even in the most difficult times, when few believed in our work. With sacrifice and responsibility we will continue along this path'.

64.11% of the share capital present at the meeting

The shareholders' meeting for the renewal of the board began in Siena, under the chairmanship of Nicola Maione, who presented the items on the agenda. The delegates of the main shareholders were present in the audience. Outgoing CEO Luigi Lovaglio also sat in the audience.

On the opposite side, the Plt Holding list (Tortora family, 1.5%) counts on the support already expressed by Norges Bank (3.1%) and the possible support of BlackRock (4.98%), although the actual weight of votes remains uncertain.

The list of the outgoing board of directors is aiming for a threshold of around 30% of the votes at the shareholders' meeting, thanks to the support of many institutional investors, often aligned with proxy advisors Iss and Glass Lewis, who are in favour of the board's composition, albeit with some reservations on the proposed names. Added to this is the weight of Caltagirone (13.5%) and the possible support of the Vanguard fund (around 3%), which will only be confirmed at the shareholders' meeting.

The shareholders' meeting of Banca Mps is meeting today in Siena to decide on the renewal of governance for the next three years. In the field to win the majority of the board, and the top positions, are two lists: the one promoted by the outgoing board, which can count on the favour of proxy advisors Iss and Glass Lewis, and which proposes former Cdp CEO Fabrizio Palermo as designated CEO, and the reconfirmation of outgoing chairman Nicola Maione. They will be flanked by figures with banking experience such as Corrado Passera and Carlo Vivaldi.

On the other side, there is the list promoted by the small shareholder Plt Holding, which belongs to the Tortora family, holder of 1.5% of the capital: headed by the outgoing CEO of Mps, Luigi Lovaglio, and former UniCredit Cesare Bisoni.