Staten tar över 70 procent av Monte dei Paschi

Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena S.p.A. (Italian pronunciation: [ˈbanka ˈmonte dei ˈpaski di ˈsjɛːna]) known as BMPS or just MPS is the oldest surviving bank in the world and the third largest Italian commercial and retail bank by total assets, according to research from Mediobanca, using 2015 data. According to the announcements of BMPS and Banco BPM, Bancao BPM overtook BMPS as the third largest bank in terms of total assets on 31 December 2016. Since the end of 2016, BMPS has been struggling to avoid a collapse. Founded in 1472 (545 years ago) by the magistrates of the city state of Siena, Italy, as a "mount of piety", it has been operating ever since. In 1995 the bank, then known as Monte dei Paschi di Siena, was transformed from a statutory corporation to a limited company called Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena (Banca MPS). The Fondazione Monte dei Paschi di Siena was created to continue the charitable functions of the bank and to be, until the bailout in 2013, its largest single shareholder. Today Banca MPS has approximately 2,000 branches, 26,000 employees and 5.1 million customers in Italy, as well as branches and businesses abroad. A subsidiary, MPS Capital Services, handles corporate and investment banking.