Muddled message

Intesa Sanpaolo, the Italian bank, has set off a small firecracker in the Italian stock market. After weeks of being positioned as one of the most solid banks in Europe – protected from the credit storm because of Italy’s conservative lending culture – it has announced a series of ways it is going to shore up its core capital ratio. But while alleviating some concerns, it has also raised questions. The bank’s shares fell 17% - roughly equal to the value of the E3.7bn that the bank will add to e...