MPS CEO says plan for combined group with Mediobanca stands even with management changes

MILAN, March 19 (Reuters) - Monte dei Paschi di Siena BMPS.MI Chief Executive Luigi Lovaglio on Thursday sought to reassure investors that the strategy he outlined for the combined group with Mediobanca MDBI.MI would outlast any changes at the helm.

Lovaglio, who last year led MPS to acquire Mediobanca, has been ruled out as a CEO candidate by the bank's board for its renewal due in April shortly after presenting his strategy for the joint group.

Answering a question about the governance turmoil at a Morgan Stanley investor conference in London, Lovaglio said the uncertainty would be resolved eventually but the plan should be, in any case, difficult to deviate from.