Monte dei Paschi di Siena

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Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena S.p.A.

Type	Public (BIT: BMPS)
Founded	1472
Headquarters	Siena, Italy
Industry	Banking
Products	Banking and Financial Services
Subsidiaries	MPS Finance, Banca Toscana
Website	http://www.mps.it/

Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SPA (MPS) is the oldest surviving bank in the world. Founded in 1472 by the Magistrate of the city state of Siena, Italy, it has been operating ever since. Today it consists of approximately 1,800 branches, 28,000 employees and 4.5 million customers in Italy, as well as branches and businesses abroad. A subsidiary, MPS Finance, handles consumer finance.

On 8 November 2007, it agreed to acquire Banca Antonveneta from Grupo Santander.

Its headquarters in the Palazzo Salimbeni in Siena are host to a magnificent art collection and a large number of priceless historical documents spanning the centuries of its existence. However, this collection is not usually open to the public.

It is also internationally known as the primary sponsor of Italian basketball club Mens Sana Basket of Siena, currently in Serie A and a frequent participant in the Euroleague.

1 Major shareholders of the Monte dei Paschi di Siena
2 Controversies
3 External links
4 References

[edit] Major shareholders of the Monte dei Paschi di Siena

49% Fondazione Monte dei Paschi di Siena
4.72% Francesco Gaetano Caltagirone
3% Hopa Spa
2.99% Unicoop Firenze Società Cooperativa

See Italian newspaper La Repubblica 2 October 2007

[edit] Controversies

The bank is controversially funding the construction of an international airport at Ampugnano, in the heart of the Tuscan countryside^[1]. This has led to protests within Siena and across Europe ^[2]. Many environmental groups have called for the Bank to withdraw funding.