EC in close Italy contact over Atlante

(ANSA) - Brussels, April 15 - The European Commission "is in close contact" with Italian authorities over a new fund to save ailing Italian lenders, a spokesperson said Friday. However the Commission "is not in a position to comment" on the Atlante fund because it has "only received preliminary information" so far, the spokesperson said.
    Atlante 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.
    The financial industry approved a 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.
    Economy Minister Pier Carlo Padoan told America's CNBC broadcaster yesterday that the creation of the fund was not a "bailout" but a "private sector" initiative aimed at "jump starting" the market for NPLs.