Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena : Italy minister Tria says crisis banks pose no systemic threat

DAVOS, Switzerland (Reuters) - Italian Economy Minister Giovanni Tria said on Wednesday he sees no systemic threat from lenders Monte dei Paschi, Carige or Popolare di Bari but is following developments.

Troubles at Banca Carige, Monte dei Paschi and Popolare di Bari have reignited fears of wider instability in Italy's fragile banking sector, pushing the country's populist government to seek a long lasting solution.

"It's three very different cases ... and none of them can entail a systemic crisis," Tria said in an interview with Reuters at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

Tria said the government would study possible solutions to eventually sell its stake in bailed-out Monte dei Paschi.

Rome also favours a market solution for Carige but is ready to face "other situations", Tria said without elaborating.

"As for Popolare di Bari, we're just monitoring the situation," he said.

Options being considered by Italy's government include merging Monte dei Paschi and Carige with healthier rivals, one source told Reuters last week.

Banking consolidation "is the way the world is going", Tria said, adding Italian banks were considering possible mergers but there was no hurry.

(Reporting by Silvia Aloisi, writing by Giulio Piovaccari; editing by Jason Neely)