In detailing the plan Wednesday, CEO Marco Morelli said that ridding the bank of the load of soured loans was "the most relevant issue" in the European Commission's approval this week of the rescue plan.

The Italian government will inject 5.4 billion euros into the bank, giving it a 70-percent stake, as part of a total boost of 8.1 billion euros. Under the deal, the government must exit within five years.

The Monte dei Paschi rescue comes just a week after the government announced plans to save two small Veneto banks where thousands of savers have lost billions of euros.

Italian Finance Minister Pier Carlo Padoan said Wednesday that the moves had "removed impediments to growth. We are putting the worst behind us."

It is the third capital injection in recent years for Siena-based Monte dei Paschi, Italy's third-largest by assets, as it struggles to recover from poor management and a heap of bad loans that compounded during Italy's long economic crisis.