Word: fazio
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...French government kicked up a fuss about rumors that the food company Danone might be the target of a U.S. bid, and even published a list of industries it deemed to be in the strategic national interest. And in Rome, former governor of the Italian central bank Antonio Fazio tried to squash two bids by foreign banks for Italian ones. But his efforts quickly turned to a scandal after the publication of taped phone calls. Fazio finally quit just before Christmas - and one of the foreign bids, by Dutch bank ABN AMRO for Banca Antonveneta, eventually succeeded. Domestic politics remains...
...Fazio melodrama comes as Italy--the world's seventh largest economy--continues to struggle with European economic integration. Cross-border bank mergers are common in the euro zone, but not in Italy, where the banking system remains largely a fortress under the eye of the all-powerful central banker. Although Fazio no longer sets the price of money, he has wielded every ounce of his notable clout. His stated goal is for Italian banks to be at the service of Italian businesses. In practice, this has meant keeping foreign firms out. It's a shortsighted view and dangerous: some blame...
...wake of the Fazio-Fiorani revelations, BPI's bid for Antonveneta has been blocked by magistrates, and its rival, Dutch bank ABN Amro, has taken a majority stake in Antonveneta, making it the first foreign owner of a major Italian lender. Meanwhile, Fiorani, under investigation for allegations of insider trading, market rigging and giving false statements, has resigned as BPI chief...
...Fazio holds on, however, despite being under investigation in the same probe of the takeover bid. So what drives the decisions of Italy's top central banker? Some answers can be traced back to 2002, when Fazio traveled to the northern town of Lodi for a conference organized by Fiorani's bank, then called Banca Popolare di Lodi. During the afternoon break, the two men decided to stroll together through the center of town in front of a cadre of journalists. It was a blatant signal to all that Fazio had anointed Fiorani to be the next banker...
...Fazio's top aides say he feels that resigning would be an admission that he did something wrong. Tito Boeri, an economics professor at Milan's Bocconi University, says the Fazio-Fiorani phone call was "appalling" but not necessarily surprising. "There is no accountability. We really must change the [banking] rules. It even comes before changing the person." Only once the playing field is leveled will Italy begin to attract foreign business leaders for something other than a Chianti getaway...