The world’s oldest bank struggles on

A rights issue has thrown the world's oldest bank a lifeline.

The world's oldest bank is set to live a while longer. Italy's Monte dei Paschi di Siena, founded in 1472, has agreed a rights issue of up to €3bn, larger than its market capitalisation, in the latest stage of its battle to avoid nationalisation.

The bank has been struggling to meet a capital shortfall resulting from the ill-timed takeover of local rival Antonveneta in 2008 and bad loans resulting from the Italian recession, which have led to almost €8bn in losses over the past two years.

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