Italian press reports said no final decision came out of the meeting, with the European Central Bank expected to give a go-ahead to the plan in February and the cash call starting in May.

The board of Monte Paschi meets on Friday to assess the situation.

Local broker ICBPI said there were still some open questions for Monte Paschi including the amount of loan writedowns it still needed to book. Prospects the ECB's green light could take longer than expected were negative for the stock, it said.

After opening 1.1 percent lower, Monte Paschi shares turned higher. By 0816 GMT, the stock was up 0.6 percent.

(Reporting by Danilo Masoni, editing by Stephen Jewkes)