Italian bank Intesa Sanpaolo SpA (ISP.MI) will consider the purchase of some of the 150 branches Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena (BMPS.MI) is selling due to antitrust obligations, Intesa Sanpaolo Chief Executive Corrado Passera said Monday.

"It's an option to evaluate," Passera told reporters in Milan when asked about a possible interest in Monte Paschi branches.

According to a report in Italian daily Il Sole 24 Ore, Intesa Sanpaolo has already expressed interest for 50 branches to Monte Paschi's advisers, Goldman Sachs (GS) and Rothschild.

Other interested parties include regional bank Banca Popolare di Puglia e Basilicata, which is interested in buying 15 branches valued at around EUR75 million, the paper said.

The U.K.'s Barclays PLC (BCS) would also be interested in increasing its Italian branches, but its offer is apparently too low for Monte Paschi, Il Sole said.

--By Luca Casiraghi and Giada Zampano, Dow Jones Newswires; +39 06 697 66920; giada.zampano@dowjones.com