Popolare Italiana CEO reinstated by shareholders despite some opposition |
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Sun, 21 Jan 2007 17:11
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MILAN (AFX) - Banca Popolare Italiana said its shareholder meeting Saturday approved the reinstatement of CEO Divo Gronchi, who had been suspended after he was convicted in connection with the Bagaglino/Italcase bankruptcy case.The company said, 1,885 votes, out of 2,847, backed Gronchi's reinstatment. At the time of his suspension in December, Gronchi had been managing director of Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA.Il Sole 24 Ore said today that 25.2 pct of those present at the Popolare Italiana meeting voted against Gronchi's reinstatement and 5.7 pct abstained.Popolare Italiana will merge with Banco Popolare di Verona e Novara in the middle of this year, subject to shareholder approval in March.Popolare Italiana vice-chairman Enrico Perotti told Il Sole he expected opposition to the merger from shareholders to be 'a lot less' at the March vote than in the vote against Gronchi.Popolare Italiana's shares are mostly owned by its employees, who were thought to back a merger with another bank.Each of the bank's shareholders, whatever the percentage of their stake, holds a single vote at the shareholder meeting.The bank's chairman, Dino Piero Giarda, said he expects Bank of Italy queries, on a planned pre-merger 2.1 eur per share dividend, to be resolved by Jan 26, in time for definitive merger proposals to be filed.'We are looking at a series of alternatives,' Giarda said, adding there are close contacts with the Bank of Italy.The banking supervisor is concerned that Popolare Italiana's capital ratios could fall below required norms between the time the extraordinary dividend is paid and when the merger is completed.nigel.tutt@thomson.comnt/wjCOPYRIGHTCopyright AFX News Limited 2006. All rights reserved.The copying, republication or redistribution of AFX News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of AFX News.AFX News and AFX Financial News Logo are registered trademarks of AFX News Limited
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Popolare di Verona rejects 3,000 merger job cuts report, sees gains by 2010 