This picture taken on July 1, 2016 shows the headquarters of Monte Dei Paschi di Siena bank on in Siena, in the Italian region of Tuscany.
Italy's number-three bank, Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena, took a hammering on the stock market on July 4, 2016 as the European Central Bank told it to slash its large bad-debt burden. Investors, many of them shaken by Britain's vote to leave the European Union, are fretting over the fragile balance sheets of debt-laden Italian banks.
/ AFP / GIUSEPPE CACACE Photo credit should read GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP/Getty Images
LONDON—Italian government bonds rallied on Aug. 21 after Moody’s extended the deadline for its review of the country’s rating, providing some relief for investors who expected a downgrade imminently.
Moody’s, which last month placed Italy’s “Baa2” rating on a review for a downgrade, said it was pushing back its decision to gain “greater clarity on (Italy’s) fiscal path and reform agenda”.
