Oldest bank Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena seeks Italian state aid

Italy's Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena is rushing against time to win state backing for a €1bn (£803m) bond issue that would plug a capital shortfall by the end of June, as required by EU regulators.

The world's oldest bank is in active talks with the country's treasury and the Bank of Italy for a capital fix that would make it the first Italian bank to resort to some form of state aid since 2010, when the eurozone crisis deepened.

Citing "organisational reasons", the bank has delayed to today a board meeting at which it is set to approve a business plan under new chief executive Fabrizio Viola and new chairman Alessandro Profumo.

Italy's third-largest bank has managed to fill two-thirds of a €3.3bn gap identified by the European Banking Authority thanks to better capital management and asset sales.