Intesa Sanpaolo shares rise after ECB’s green light to buyback plan

MILAN (Reuters) -Shares in Intesa Sanpaolo rose on Monday after Italy’s biggest bank said late on Friday it had received supervisory clearance from the European Central Bank (ECB) to buy back its own shares for up to 3.4 billion euros ($3.6 billion).

By 0845 GMT, shares in Intesa were up 3.2%, among the top gainers in Italy’s blue-chip basket.

Kepler Cheuvreux said the ECB’s green light on the buyback’s full amount was positive because it meant the ECB considered a 100 basis point hit on the bank’s capital ratios “manageable”.

Intesa said on Friday it would immediately carry out half of the proposed share buyback and take a decision on the remaining 1.7 billion euros by the time it publishes full-year results in February 2023.

The bank has until May 2023 to complete the share purchase.

($1 = 0.9461 euros)

(Reporting by Valentina Za; Writing by Giulio Piovaccari; Editing by Giulia Segreti and Edmund Blair)