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The world’s oldest lender, the 500 year-old Monte dei Paschi di Siena, is at the centre of Italy's banking headache (Photo: Michelle Lee)

A €45bn headache for Italy

A perfect storm is brewing for Italian prime minister Matteo Renzi. The once golden boy of European politics is now facing the strongest political and economic headwinds since coming to power two and a half years ago.

The most pressing concern are Italian banks, and more specifically the €360 billion of bad loans weighing on their books.

They are mostly a legacy of Italy’s record double-dip recession between 2008 and 2014, and they have limited lenders’ capacity to offer new loan...

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