Italy will exit Monte Paschi by end-2021 as planned - economy minister

ROME (Reuters) - Italy will meet its commitment to sell its controlling stake in Monte dei Paschi di Siena <BMPS.MI> by the end of 2021, Economy Minister Roberto Gualtieri said on Wednesday.

Rome owns 68% of the Tuscan bank following an 8-billion euro ($9.07 billion) rescue in 2017 and has promised the European Commission it will re-privatise the bank next year.

"Of course we will respect the deadline," Gualtieri said in an interview with Bloomberg television, declining to comment on reports of a merger between Monte Paschi and any other bank.

In other remarks, Gualtieri said he did not believe that Italy would risk any market stigma if it applied for a loan from the euro zone's ESM bailout fund, adding the government would decide at a later date whether to seek a credit line.

(Reporting by Gavin Jones; editing by Angelo Amante)