Intesa/SanPaolo:No carve-up, please

In Italy, the concept of shareholder democracy is only skin-deep. Too often well-connected shareholders get a better deal than outsiders. So it is not surprising that powerful shareholders in Intesa and Sanpaolo Imi may attempt to secure side-deals as their price for approving a merger between the country’s second and third largest banking groups. But in the tussle to secure veto rights and bank branches, less-connected shareholders mustn’t be short-changed. Credit Agricole, Intesa’s largest ...