EU Commission - Monte Paschi capital-raising plan fully in line with EU rules

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Commission said on Friday that Italy's Monte dei Paschi di Siena plan for a privately funded capital increase was in line with EU rules.

"The Commission takes note of the bank's announcement that it plans to launch a private capital raising exercise," a Commission spokesman said in a statement.

"This is fully in line with EU rules. Any additional capital needs should in the first place be raised from the market and/or from other private sources," the spokesman said.

(Reporting by Francesco Guarascio; Editing by Louise Ireland)