Shares of Monte dei Paschi di Siena fell sharply to a record low after the European Central Bank told it to reduce its holdings of bad loans by 30%, the Financial Times reported on July 4. Italy’s third-biggest bank is also one of the oldest in the world. It was founded in 1472.
Last year, overall non-performing loans equaled €46.9 billion. The ECB requested the lender to cut bad loans to €38.9 billion by late 2017 and further to €32.6 billion by the end of 2018.
By July 4, shares of Monte dei Paschi slumped by almost 86% to €0.35 apiece since they hit their peak value in March 2015. The UK’s decision to leave the European Union dealt a blow to the bank. Brexit erased 35.5% from the bank’s stock, pushing a share to €0.54. Shares of Monte dei Paschi di Siena are traded on Borsa Italiana (Italy’s main stock exchange in Milan).
