Italy PM Renzi to hand in resignation on Friday: parliamentary source

Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi is due to hand in his resignation on Friday, a parliamentary source said on Wednesday, after a pummeling loss in a national referendum on his flagship reform at the weekend.

The 41-year-old premier announced his resignation in the early hours of Monday after the referendum results became clear, but President Sergio Mattarella asked him to stay on until the 2017 budget passed in a vote scheduled for later on Wednesday.

The source said he did not know whether the premier was delaying his resignation to Friday to authorize measures to rescue troubled Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena, Italy's third-biggest lender.

"Renzi's resignation is expected to be on Friday," the parliamentary source said.

(RETUERS)