Monte Paschi looking to sell one billion euro non-performing consumer loans - sources
MILAN (Reuters) - Italy's Monte dei Paschi di Siena is looking to sell around 1 billion euros (0.75 billion pounds) in non-performing loans originally granted by its consumer credit unit, three sources with knowledge of the matter said on Friday, as the bank seeks to boost its financial strength.
The bank, which emerged as the weakest lender in a Europe-wide health check of the sector last year, had initially sought to sell the whole Consum.it unit but was forced to shelve the plan.
It said last month the board had decided to incorporate Consum.it into the bank.
The tender for the sale of the loans has started and non-binding offers are being gathered, one of the sources said, adding leading Italian and foreign players were interested in participating.
Monte dei Paschi declined to comment.
The Tuscan bank had around 23 billion euros in problematic loans at the end of December - nearly one in five customer loans.
The bank needs to carry out a 3 billion euro capital increase to plug the shortfall exposed by European regulators.
Non-performing consumer loans typically sell for around 4 to 6 percent of their nominal value, a market source said.
($1 = 0.9446 euros)
(Reporting by Valentina Za; editing by Danilo Masoni)
