Italy Bans Short Selling On Monte Dei Paschi As Shares Slump 20%

Italian market watchdog Consob on Monday imposed a temporary short-selling ban on shares of Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena Spa as they sank 20% on the Milan stock exchange. The slide came after the lender was identified as one of 25 eurozone banks that failed the European Central Bank's stress tests, facing a capital shortfall of 2.1 billion euros ($2.66 billion). The shortfall marks the biggest capital gap of the lenders examined in the tests. Consob said the short-selling ban in Monte dei Paschi shares will be in place Monday and Tuesday.