Italian banks Fazio’s fiasco

Italy’s desperate effort to keep foreign predators out of its banking system hasn’t just failed. It has backfired. The ringleaders of the various protectionist schemes are so much on the back foot that they will find it hard to keep future predators at bay. Look at their troubles. Gianpiero Fiorani, the former boss of Banca Popolare Italiana, has been arrested, reportedly on suspicion of conspiracy to embezzle. BPI is the bank which tried and failed to stop ABN Amro buying Antonveneta, another ...