Monte dei Paschi kicks off 2.5 billion euro, unsecured bad loan sale - source

Italy's state-owned Monte dei Paschi di Sienahas kicked off the sale of around 2.5 billion euros (2.3 billion pounds) in unsecured bad loans, a source familiar with the matter said on Thursday.A second source confirmed the amount, which was first reported by Il Sole 24 Ore daily on Wednesday.Monte dei Paschi declined to comment.