MPS completes as Italy sweats on contagion

Selling pressure on Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena eased in the run up to completion of its Eu2.15bn rights issue on Friday allowing it to report acceptances of 99.91% on Monday even as the Italian banking sector tumbled. While MPS got away, the widening eurozone debt crisis threatens to draw in more Italian and Spanish banks as higher funding costs reduce their ability to earn their way to higher capital buffers, said one FIG specialist.