BNL French twist

The denouement of the year-long bid battle for Banca Nazionale del Lavoro is rich in irony. The clique that fought tooth and nail to keep the E9bn bank from falling into Spanish hands has now given it to the French on a plate. This might look like an abrupt about-turn for Unipol and its allies. After all, the Italian insurer had launched a white-knight bid for BNL in order to stop Spain’s BBVA from stealing the prize. Yet when regulators blocked its bid, it didn’t bat an eyelash. The insurer an...