(MENAFN- The Peninsula) AFP
Rome: At the 11th hour, the Italian government has vowed to rescue two troubled Venetian banks with the aid of a retail bank, plus billions of taxpayer's cash.
The government was due to meet over the weekend to devise the rescue framework for Banca Popolare di Vicenza and Veneto Banca, the finance ministry said. \
Both banks face bankruptcy and European authorities say it is for Rome, not Brussels, to deal with their liquidation, involving selling off their good assets and transferring toxic assets to a 'bad bank, essentially financed by Rome.
Italy will stage the rescue along with some support from the country's biggest retail bank Intesa Sanpaolo.
Whereas the latter has put a symbolic euro on the table, the cost to the Italian state will be around $11bn.
The developmentacomes amid deep concern within the 19-member eurozone at the parlous state of some Italian banks with Rome still to resolve the problem of piles of risky loans sitting on the books of some of them.
The ministry said, in a statement yesterday, the government would be meeting 'over the weekend to adopt necessary measures to ensure banking activity is fully operational, with protection for all current account holders, deposits and senior shares.
MENAFN2406201700630000ID1095580703
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.