Montepaschi Group: 1H08 results approved

The Board of Directors of Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena Spa has approved the Bank’s results at June 30th, 2008. The contribution of Antonveneta was limited to the sole month of June, since the acquisition took place on May 30th, 2008.

With a net profit of EUR 522.2 mln in the first 6 months of the year, the Montepaschi Group equalled – or rather exceeded - the excellent 2007 half-year performance that later resulted in the best fiscal year ever in the history of the Bank. The integration of Banca Antonveneta, completed in a very short timeframe, as well as the challenging restructuring and efficiency-improvement process that laid the foundations for the third largest banking group in Italy, had no adverse effects on the operations of the Bank, which is proving to be in perfect health despite a still very negative market scenario.

The customer base of Group banks increased by 295,000 clients compared to June 2007; at the same time, Antonveneta became profitable again ( EUR 40 mln in June alone) and showed the first signs of a reversal of trend vis-à-vis the past few years by opening 3,000 new current accounts in the same month. This positive trend continued in July, with 1,000 new Retail clients acquired.