ROME (Reuters) - An alternative rescue plan for Italy's Monte dei Paschi di Siena (MI:BMPS) sponsored by former industry Minister Corrado Passera will fall through if the Tuscan bank does not give access to its data by the end of the week, a source close to the matter said.
The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity as talks are private, said Passera had investors ready to invest 2 billion euros (£1.80 billion) in Italy's ailing third-largest lender.
Monte dei Paschi needs to raise 5 billion euros (£4.50 billion) in capital and spin off its bad loans by the end of the year to meet a request by the European Central Bank and avoid the risk of being wound down.
The source said Passera's proposal would no longer stand if investors he represented were not granted access to the bank's books right away since there would not be enough time to carry out a due diligence before a shareholder meeting on Nov. 24 called to approve the share issue.
Monte dei Paschi was not immediately available for a comment.
Monte dei Paschi in mid-October gave CEO Marco Morelli a mandate to analyse Passera's proposal.