Monte Paschi’s Fatal Sin Brings Nationalization for Oldest Bank

On the afternoon of Dec. 9, Marco Morelli, chief executive officer of Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA, was preparing for a board meeting in the lender’s Belle Epoque-era offices in Milan when the news hit: the European Central Bank had rejected his bid for more time to raise the 5 billion euros needed to stay afloat. The gathered executives and their advisers from JPMorgan Chase & Co.