Decision on Monte Paschi rescue soon; Vicenza and Veneto next: ECB

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - European authorities will soon decide on a public rescue plan for Italian lender Monte dei Paschi di Siena (BMPS.MI) and are already working on similar requests from two smaller banks, the European Central Bank's top supervisor said on Monday.

"There will soon be a decision on Monte Paschi,” the head of the ECB's supervisory arm Daniele Nouy said.

Nouy added the ECB has already begun providing information to the European Commission on a "precautionary recapitalisation" request for regional Italian lenders Banca Popolare di Vicenza and Veneto Banca.

"We have already been in touch with European Commission," Nouy said.

Asked whether this may involve a merger of the two banks, Nouy said: "The European Commission is in the driver's seat on a restructuring plan."

(Reporting by Francesco Canepa and Andreas Framke; editing by Balazs Koranyi)