World's oldest bank posts $1.96b loss

Answer 1

The world's oldest bank, Italy's Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena founded in 1472, has reported a loss of 1.617 billion euros ($1.96 billion) in the second quarter.

The loss was due to writedowns on past acquisitions, including a 2007 acquisition of another bank that was deemed overpriced by analysts.

In last year's second quarter, the bank reported a profit of 261.4 million euros ($317.08 million).

Due to its exposure to the eurozone debt crisis, the bank was forced to take a government bailout in June of 1.5 billion euros ($1.82 billion) to strengthen its capital base and pay off debt.

As part of a restructuring effort, the bank said it would cut 4,600 jobs by 2015.