MPS Shareholders Reappoint Luigi Lovaglio as CEO Amid Shifting Alliances

Luigi Lovaglio has been reinstated as the Chief Executive Officer of Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena (MPS), following a shareholder battle that overturned a previous decision by the bank’s board to exclude him from a new mandate.

The resolution comes after a period of intense governance instability. On March 21, 2026, Lovaglio launched a bid to retain his position after the board moved to rule him out for another term. This confrontation escalated on March 25, 2026, when the MPS board stripped Lovaglio of his powers.

Shareholder Alignment and the Delfin Shift

Reports from April 15, 2026, including those from Corriere della Sera and ANSA, indicate that Lovaglio secured his return through a significant shift in the alignment of the bank’s major shareholders. A critical factor was the rupture between Delfin, the holding company of the Leonardo Del Vecchio heirs, and the group linked to Francesco Gaetano Caltagirone.

Delfin, the top shareholder with a stake exceeding 17%, ultimately sided with Lovaglio. This move broke the front previously desired by the Italian government and shifted the balance of power away from the Caltagirone group, which had bolstered its stake to 13.5%.

Additional support for Lovaglio’s reappointment came from institutional investors. Norges Bank Investment Management, holding a 2.4% stake, backed the slate presented by Pierluigi Tortora’s PLT Energia group, which specifically proposed Lovaglio for the role of CEO.

Governance and Strategic Pressures

The leadership struggle occurred against a backdrop of regulatory and judicial pressure. In January 2026, reports indicated that the Italian Finance Ministry supported Lovaglio, though this confidence was linked to the outcomes of a judicial probe into the bank’s acquisition of Mediobanca.

The European Central Bank had also requested an industrial plan for the group involving Mediobanca, which the board was required to present by mid-March 2026. These strategic requirements, alongside the need to finalize the 2026 calendar and management renewal by April, created a high-stakes environment for the bank’s governance.

The Ministry of Economy and Finance, the third-largest shareholder with a stake of just under 5%, had indicated its intention to abstain from the vote regarding the board renewal.

Market and Corporate Implications

The return of Lovaglio follows a period where the bank’s internal stability was questioned due to shareholder divisions and the influence of external parties. According to Milano Finanza, the decision by Francesco Milleri to align Delfin with Lovaglio has altered the scenarios regarding the potential for a third pole and the positioning of Generali.

The conflict also involved the role of Mediobanca, the primary shareholder of Assicurazioni Generali, as the Caltagirone group had been moving closer to controlling the Sienese lender and, by extension, influencing Mediobanca.

The successful bid by Lovaglio to reclaim the CEO position concludes a month of volatility that saw the bank’s leadership stripped of power and then restored through a realignment of the most powerful voting blocs in the company.