The European Commission
"can see good reasons to accept a postponement" in the sale of
the good banks set up after the failure for four small Italian
lenders last year, a spokesperson for Competition Commissioner
Margrethe Vestager said Friday.
The spokesperson said that Brussels was engaged in "close,
constructive dialogue with the Italian authorities regarding the
extension of the deadline for the sale of the four bridge
banks," referring to Banca Marche, Banca Etruria, CariChieti and
CariFerrara.
The new lenders were set up following a controversial
government intervention financed by healthy Italian banks that
saved the jobs and accounts of the four institutes, but left
people holding bonds or shares in them with investments worth
nothing.
Premier Matteo Renzi's government said it could not adopt
a softer rescue because of European regulations but it has set
up a mechanism to compensate small investors who say they were
deceived about the risks of buying the bonds.
The president of the good banks, Roberto Nicastro, wrote
to employees this week to say at least one of the institutes
was close to being sold.
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