World's oldest bank 'to gain from branch sell-off'

Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena was the best performer on the Milan stock exchange on Tuesday as investors anticipated a quick sale of 200 branches of regional bank Antonveneta, which it owns.

BMPS, which was founded in 1472, needed to raise cash to comply with the new European criteria for capital reserves and repay a state bailout. It is also extremely exposed to Italian government bonds.

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