Norway’s sovereign wealth fund manager, Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM), has publicly declared its support for the reappointment of Luigi Lovaglio as chief executive of Italian bank Monte dei Paschi di Siena (MPS). NBIM, which oversees the assets of the Norwegian Government Pension Fund Global, invests globally in equities, fixed income, and real estate, aiming to safeguard and build financial wealth for future generations. This announcement comes despite the MPS board proposing Fabrizio Palermo, currently heading utility ACEA, as its preferred candidate. NBIM held a 2.87% stake in MPS at the end of 2025, valued at $935 million, making it the sixth largest shareholder, according to LSEG data.
Lovaglio’s ousting by the MPS board followed his successful backing of a plan to complete the takeover of Mediobanca, which would see MPS acquire the remaining 14% and take the bank private. This acquisition plan, approved by both lenders’ boards, still requires shareholder endorsement. Meanwhile, Palermo, the board’s alternative, previously led the Italian state agency CDP and serves on the board of insurer Generali. His appointment to the Generali board was by Francesco Gaetano Caltagirone, a significant shareholder in both Generali and MPS.
Should the slate of nominees proposed by the MPS board ultimately win, Italian regulations necessitate a second, individual vote on candidates. In this scenario, NBIM has indicated it would vote against Palermo, as well as a number of other directors including banker Corrado Passera, ACEA board member Alessandro Caltagirone, current MPS Chairman Nicola Maione, and nominations committee head Domenico Lombardi. NBIM typically supports minority-nominated candidates in bundled-voting systems like Italy’s. However, in explaining its vote, the fund manager emphasised that shareholders should retain the right to seek board changes when directors are perceived as not acting in the best interest of shareholders.
