Padoan, Visco huddle with Renzi on banks' bourse woes

(ANSA) - Rome, January 20 - Premier Matteo Renzi on Wednesday conferred with Economy Minister Pier Carlo Padoan and Bank of Italy Governor Ignazio Visco on the turbulence that has hit Italian banking stocks this week. Government sources said that the turbulence was being monitored "with great collaboration, harmony and attention by competent authorities in the awareness of the complexity of the situation and in the conviction that past and future measures by lawmakers will help some banks in a process of integration that is more necessary than ever".
    Several Italian lenders are under intense pressure due to investors' concerns about the number of non-performing loans on their balance sheets. European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said Wednesday he did "not see the risk of a bigger banking crisis" when asked about the market turbulence that has hit Italian banking stocks particularly hard. Padoan said that, despite the "turbulence", "there is an underlying solidity of the Italian system that is going forward and...is considered one of the most trustworthy and attractive for investments".