FRANKFURT — Monte dei Paschi di Siena, an ancient Tuscan bank whose troubles have shaken Italian politics and caused jitters around the euro zone, on Wednesday confirmed earlier estimates of losses from a series of secret transactions that were used to conceal the scope of the bank’s problems.
The bank said its losses from three questionable transactions were 730 million euros (about $985 million), only slightly higher than an estimate in October of a loss of 720 million euros. The disclosure Wednesday, after a meeting of the bank’s board that lasted into the evening, could calm financial markets if investors conclude that all of the bank’s skeletons are out of the closet.
The disclosure came as Italian prosecutors said on Wednesday they had ordered the seizure of assets worth about 40 million euros in connection with possible fraud against Monte dei Paschi, Reuters reported. Prosecutors did not give details, but Italian news organizations reported that the money was seized from other banks that did business with Monte dei Paschi.
Problems at Monte dei Paschi, founded in 1472 and commonly known as M.P.S., have rippled far beyond the medieval Tuscan city of Siena, which is also the bank’s largest shareholder.
Former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has seized on the scandal as an issue as he tries to make a political comeback.
The timing of the scandal has been inopportune for Mario Draghi, the president of the European Central Bank, raising questions about his supervision of Italian banks when he was governor of the Bank of Italy, the Italian central bank.
The Bank of Italy has insisted that it subjected M.P.S. to intense scrutiny. Last week the central bank issued a detailed account of the numerous steps it took since 2008 to force Monte dei Paschi to raise capital, install new management and deal with risks stemming from its holdings of Italian bonds, which were declining in value.
Some managers withheld critical information about the questionable trades that came to light only recently, the Bank of Italy said.
But at the least the case of Monte dei Paschi has illustrated the limits of bank supervision, and called into question whether the central bank would be able to do a better job than national supervisors at keeping an eye on banks.
Mr. Draghi is likely to face many questions about Monti dei Paschi when the central bank holds its regular monthly news conference on Thursday.
The problems at M.P.S., which led to a 3.9 billion euro ($5.3 billion) bailout by the Italian government, have also led to criminal investigations.
Prosecutors in Siena on Wednesday heard testimony from Antonio Vigni, former chief executive of Monte dei Paschi and one of several previous managers being investigated on a series of charges including false accounting and fraud. Giuseppe Mussari, the bank’s former president, will also be heard this week.
The bank’s troubles stem in part from the 9 billion euro ($12 billion) purchase of Antonveneta bank in 2008, just months after the Spanish bank Santander had bought it for 6.6 billion euros ($8.1 billion). The Siena magistrates are also looking into allegations of bribery related to that deal.
Investigations have branched out to other Italian cities, including Trani, in Sicily, where prosecutors are looking closely at derivatives operations carried out by Monte dei Paschi and other Italian banks as well as the role of the regulatory bodies entrusted with monitoring those banks.
Jack Ewing reported from Frankfurt and Elisabetta Povoledo from Rome.
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