The head of communications for the troubled Italian bank Monte dei Paschi di Siena, David Rossi, is found dead.
What were the circumstances that forced the bank, the world’s oldest, to accept a €4.1 billion or $5.3 billion bailout from the Italian government?  http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/08/business/global/official-from-monte-dei-paschi-di-siena-bank-is-found-dead.html?ref=world In 2008 Monte dei Paschi acquired another Italian bank, Antonveneta, for €9 billion, a price that was considered wildly inflated and left the bank financially weakened. Later, Monte dei Paschi sought to conceal growing losses by way of complex transactions with Deutsche Bank and Nomura that were not disclosed to regulators.  Last week Monte dei Paschi sued Nomura and Deutsche Bank for damages in connection with transactions. The Italian bank said it was also suing the bank’s former chief executives, because of their role in the deals. Profits from Monte dei Paschi financed an enormous array of city projects, including ambulance services and child day care. The sudden end to the largesse, distributed by a foundation that is the bank’s largest shareholder, has already led to cuts in services, and more are likely as civic organizations use up money they had received in the past.