1Atlante was considering whether to press on as sole buyer, they added.
2The two sources confirmed discussions between the Italian bank and Atlante were ongoing.
3The 938 million euros already paid by Atlante should also count as private capital.
4Atlante is short of 150 million euros to be able to buy the mezzanine tranche.
5Fusberta, Rinaldo's sword, formerly belonged to another giant, Atlante.
6A third source added that the banks' boards may meet on Friday to discuss the Atlante deal.
7Messaggero said bank rescue fund Atlante will be involved in the bad loan side of the deal.
8The bank said it would sell securitized notes to Atlante II at 21 cents on the euro.
9These include banks being helped by Atlante.
10The fund, Atlante, will support rights issues for small lenders, avoiding potential resolutions if they can't raise equity.
11Atlante has already pumped 3.4 billion euros into the two lenders.
12Italian banks and insurers that funded Atlante have since been forced to write down the value of their investments.
13His coaching debut came with Atlante in 2002 and he has also taken charge of Monterrey, Veracruz and Tecos.
14Atlante is considering whether to press on as sole buyer of Monte dei Paschi's bad loans, the sources said.
15An Italian official has said banks like UniCredit need to reform and can't rely on Atlante to solve long-term problems.
16Recently created bank bailout fund Atlante will buy the mezzanine tranche for 1.6 billion euros.