MILAN (Reuters) - Italian lender Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena (MI:BMPS) is set to appoint businessman Alessandro Falciai as its new chairman and the decision may be announced this weekend, two sources close to the matter said on Saturday.
Falciai, a Monte dei Paschi board member and head of the bank's nomination committee, will replace Massimo Tononi who has said he would step down after a shareholder meeting that will be held in the coming weeks to approve the bank's rescue plan.
Falciai is also a Monte dei Paschi shareholder with a stake of just under 2 percent.
"I'm not sure if it will be announced today, but the only available candidate is Falciai," one of the sources said.
Monte dei Paschi, the world's oldest bank, needs to raise a total of 5 billion euros ($5.57 billion) by the end of the year or risk being wound down. It is racing to raise the cash and offload some 28 billion euros in bad loans at below book value.