Italy plans Treasury shake-up with new department for state-owned firms - sources

Italian Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti plans to reorganise the ministry, creating a new unit at the Treasury department to manage state-owned firms and banking regulation in a project he will take to the cabinet next week, sources told Reuters.

The proposed shake-up would enable Giorgetti and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni to put a key ally at the heart of Treasury operations to deal with the most delicate corporate issues facing Italy. Political sources have previously said that Meloni was looking to put her stamp on key positions.

The move follows criticism from Meloni's aides over the way previous governments dealt with Italy's main financial dossiers, which led Rome to appoint on Thursday economist Riccardo Barbieri as Treasury director general, replacing Alessandro Rivera in the position.

These dossiers include the privatisation of national airline ITA Airways and efforts to relaunch bank Monte dei Paschi di Siena (MPS), which is 64%-owned by the Treasury following a 2017 bailout that cost taxpayers 5.4 billion euros ($5.85 billion).

Under Giorgetti's plan, the influential Treasury department within the ministry would be split into two units, said two political sources who asked to not be named.

One of the units would mainly be devoted to macroeconomic policies and European and international relations, while the other would handle state-controlled firms, public assets and financial regulation.

The newly created department is expected to have its own director general.

The reorganisation plan requires time to be implemented and Barbieri will continue to lead the whole Treasury department under its current set-up in the meantime, one of the sources said.

A number of other senior roles will also be up for grabs in the coming weeks, including chairmen and CEOs of state-controlled energy groups ENI and Enel.

The boards of MPS, defence group Leonardo and power grid Terna are also due for renewal in the next few months, while a new Bank of Italy governor will have to be found when Ignazio Visco finishes his term at the end of October.

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