(see related)
European Central Bank President
Mario Draghi on Thursday described Italy's new Atlante fund to
help the nation's weaker banks cope with non-performing loans
and capital shortfalls as a "small step in the right direction".
He also said, however, that "we have not completely
examined the details yet".
Quaestio Capital Management SGR said Thursday that it has
received authorization from stock-market regulator Consob to
sell shares in Atlante.
In a statement, private fund manager Quaestio said that it
was close to "crossing the minimum threshold of collecting Euro
4,000 million set in the fund regulation".
The first major test for Atlante is the capital increase
that Banca Popolare di Vicenza has launched to fill a capital
shortfall signalled by the ECB.
Atlante is sub-underwriting the operation up to a maximum
of 1.5 billion euros.
Consob said Thursday that it has approved the publication
of a prospectus by Banca Popolare di Vicenza and will allow the
struggling bank to trade its shares in a 1.76 billion euros
initial offer.
A statement said that the initial public offering would
run from April 21 to April 28.
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