$2 billion

value of impaired loans sold by Italian lender Monte dei Paschi

Italian state-owned lender Monte dei Paschi di Siena said yesterday it had completed three disposals of impaired loans for around €1.8 billion (Dh7.3 billion or $2 billion), surpassing a goal set in its restructuring plan two years ahead of time. Monte dei Paschi said the disposals cut soured loans on its balance sheet to around 12.5 per cent of total lending, better than a 2021 target of 12.9 per cent set in the restructuring plan Italy agreed with the EU Commission when it bailed out the bank in 2017. The Italian Treasury said on Sunday the government would delay to early 2020 the presentation of a plan to sell its 68 per cent stake in Monte dei Paschi.