The Intesa Sanpaolo bank will put
from 800 million to one billion euros into the financial
industry's new Atlante fund for weaker banks, Intesa said
Friday.
Atlante ('Atlas') was set up by the Cariplo Foundation and
Quaestio capital management firm in a bid to shore up ailing
Italian lenders while avoiding violating EU rules against State
aid.
Cariplo Foundation President Giuseppe Guzzetti has said the
new fund will put an end to what he called a speculators'
"bonanza" in snapping up Non-Performing Loans (NPLs) at as much
as 18-20% interest.
The financial industry approved the government-backed plan
Monday to set up the privately financed fund to buy up shares in
struggling Italian lenders and to take on their NPLs.
On Thursday IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said
Atlante showed "an interesting approach, limited in scope and
amount, but interesting".
Bad loans are a legacy of the financial crisis, she said,
and Italian authorities have recognised it is a problem that
must be addressed.
Economy Minister Pier Carlo Padoan told America's CNBC that
the creation of the fund was not a "bailout", but a "private
sector" initiative that aimed at "jump starting" the market for
non-performing loans.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © Copyright ANSA
