Italy to weigh whether to back legal action against former Monte dei Paschi top execs

MILAN: Italy's government, which owns 68 percent of Monte dei Paschi, will assess whether to back a possible request to seek damages from former top executives of the Tuscan bank at a shareholder meeting, Deputy Prime Minister Luigi Di Maio said.

"We'll discuss and see what to do next week at the shareholder meeting," he told journalists on the sidelines of an event. "As far as I'm concerned, those who have hurt the bank should pay."

Monte dei Paschi holds its annual general meeting on Thursday and the Italian press has reported one investor in the bank, who has long been calling for legal action against the former managers, has asked the Treasury to back the request.