(ANSA) - Dutch bank ABN Amro has prevailed in its bid for Banca Antonveneta, making the northern bank the first Italian one to be controlled by a foreign lender.
ABN Amro's victory came Wednesday evening at the end of an eight-hour board meeting, when Banca Popolare Italiana (BPI) agreed to sell its 29.4% stake in Antonveneta for 26.5 euros a share.
The 2.3-billion-euro sale ended a six-month battle marred by judicial investigations and a scandal involving Bank of Italy Governor Antonio Fazio, accused of favouring BPI over ABN Amro.
ABN Amro, which made its first move on Antonveneta at the end of March, said the sale was slated to take place by the middle of next week and that it would bid for the remainder of the bank at the same share price.
Antonveneta rose almost 0.4% in Thursday morning trading. The sale of BPI's stake is subject to approval by magistrates and regulators but legal sources said they expected a green light for the operation. BPI's shares in Antonveneta, Italy's ninth biggest bank, have been frozen by magistrates investigating alleged irregularities in BPI's takeover bid.
BPI chief Gianpiero Fiorani, a close friend of Fazio, has also been suspended from his job along with the bank's chief financial officer Gianfranco Boni and several other businessmen involved in the attempted takeover.
ABN Amro already held a 12.7% stake in Antonveneta when it launched its initial March bid at 25 euros a share. Its move was thwarted by BPI, which launched a rival bid. This bid was subsequently approved by the Bank of Italy despite doubts over BPI's finances raised by the central bank's own internal report on the operation.
It subsequently emerged that BPI loaned more than 1.1 billion euros to several Italian businessmen to buy Antonveneta shares.
Leaked transcripts of wiretapping evidence involving Fiorani, Fazio and others triggered a scandal this summer, appearing to lend weight to accusations that the governor was favouring Italian banks over foreign ones.
In one of the transcripts, Fiorani said he was "moved" after Fazio told him he had approved BPI's bid for Antonveneta.
"I've got goosebumps ... I'd kiss you on the forehead," Fiorani said.
According to Milan prosecutor Clementina Forleo, who is investigating possible crimes linked to stake-building in Antonveneta, the transcripts indicate "a total disregard for the rules which are part of a system of controls, of which the Bank of Italy is head."
But Fazio insists he had done nothing wrong and has refused to resign.
Economy Minister Domenico Siniscalco is among several top government officials who have called on Fazio to step down in a bid to limit the damage to Italy's financial and international reputation.
The government cannot order Fazio to go, while passing legislation to remove him would interfere with the Bank of Italy's independence. The government has responded to the crisis with a reform
of the Bank of Italy, whose governor holds an open-ended mandate.
The reform bill, which has yet to be approved by parliament, introduces a seven-year term of office for the governor but would only apply to Fazio's successors. European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet stressed yesterday that Fazio could remain another five years in office once the reforms are approved.
Trichet was referring to an opinion issued by the ECB in 2004 which recommends a five-year "transitional regime" for incumbent central bank governors if reforms to the institute are introduced by parliament.
He said that removing the Italian governor via legislation would set a "catastrophic precedent for the independence of all central banks." The European Commission said on Thursday that it was
still examining the Bank of Italy's role in the Antonveneta case.
Jonathan Todd, spokesman for European Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes, said that "we are following the events in Italy and have not yet reached a conclusion." He said the commission was still investigating whether the Bank of Italy had respected European Union rules on cross-European takeovers.
The European Commission notified Fazio back in February that it was examining his position on cross-border mergers and acquisitions in the banking sector after complaints of favouritism from several European banks. The EC said it specifically wanted "clarification on the application of EU regulations in regards to foreign banks operating in Italy."
Foreign banks are interested in cracking into the lucrative Italian market because of Italy's high savings quotas and the fact that Italian banks charge among the highest fees in the world for high-street banking services. By acquiring Antonveneta, ABN will gain some 1.5 million
clients through 622 branches in Italy, including 300 in Italy's wealthy northeast Veneto region.
