Fazio Sleepless in Lodi

Affectionate midnight phone conversations are usually the stuff of love affairs. But not always. In Italy, the relationship between a regulator and his regulated subjects can apparently be just as cosy. Antonio Fazio, the governor of Italy’s central bank, telephoned Gianpiero Fiorani, boss of Banca Popolare Italiana, at midnight to inform him he had given the go-ahead to one of his bids for rival Antonveneta, according to a transcript of the conversation published in Il Giornale, a newspaper. Fi...