Banca Monte dei Paschi Announces Covered Bond Program - Source

9th Jun 2010 10:39

LONDON (Dow Jones)--Italy's Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA (BMPS.MI) is setting-up a covered bond program, a person familiar with the matter said Wednesday. The covered bonds will be issued under the Italian covered bond legal framework and backed by a pool of Italian eligible residential mortgages originated by Banca Monte dei Paschi, the person said. The covered bonds are expected to be rated Aaa by Moody's Investors Service and AAA by Fitch Ratings. Banca Monte dei Paschi Capital Services, Morgan Stanley and Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC are joint arrangers of the program, the person also said. Covered bonds are high-quality bonds issued by banks to refinance mortgages or public-sector loans. -By Ainsley Thomson, Dow Jones Newswires; 44 20 7842 9318; [email protected] (Alessandro Pasetti in London contributed to this report.) (END) Dow Jones Newswires June 09, 2010 05:39 ET (09:39 GMT)