Monte Dei Paschi CEO Bids for New Mandate Challenging Exclusion

Monte dei Paschi CEO makes bid to keep his job after board excludes him as candidate

By Valentina Za

Leadership Struggle at Monte dei Paschi di Siena

MILAN, March 21 (Reuters) - Monte dei Paschi di Siena (MPS) CEO Luigi Lovaglio launched a bid on Saturday to keep his job, challenging a decision by the Italian bank's board to rule him out for another term when shareholders pick a new boss next month.

Board Decisions and Shareholder Actions

PLT Holding, the investment vehicle of the Tortora family which owns more than 1.2% of the bank, said in a statement it had filed a slate of nominees for the MPS board in April and was proposing to keep Lovaglio in the job.

MPS shareholders vote on the CEO on April 15. The outgoing board has proposed three potential CEO candidates, having excluded Lovaglio, who led the takeover of bigger rival Mediobanca last year.

PLT Holding's Objectives

PLT said its objective was to "complete the implementation of the industrial plan already outlined ... and, at the same time, seize any external growth opportunities that may arise".

Lovaglio's Response and Investor Consultations

After falling out with the MPS board and being ruled out at the eleventh hour as a CEO candidate, Lovaglio has been holding consultations with investors to see whether he could garner enough support to fight back, people with knowledge of the matter previously told Reuters.

Resistance to Lovaglio's Plans

Lovaglio has met resistance over his plans for Mediobanca, which is still listed as a separate firm on the stock exchange following the takeover during which MPS acquired 86%.

Board Approval and Strategic Clashes

The CEO has secured board approval to buy the remaining 14% of Mediobanca and take it private, spinning off its private and investment banking operations in an unlisted unit under the original brand.

That plan has clashed with that of leading MPS investor Francesco Gaetano Caltagirone, who favoured keeping Mediobanca listed, the people with knowledge of the matter said.

Caltagirone has denied any direct clash with Lovaglio saying the debate over strategy was within the MPS board.

Support and Setbacks for Lovaglio

MPS' main shareholder Delfin has openly backed Lovaglio, who also had the support of Italy's Treasury. However, after losing a representative on the MPS board due to an insider trading probe, the Treasury has taken a back seat in the process of selecting a new CEO.

(Reporting by Valentina Za; Editing by Sharon Singleton and Peter Graff)