Bank of Italy topples off its puppet-master's pedestal

摘要

Takeover struggles for two Italian banks have laid bare the Bank of Italy's powerful tinkering in the banking system as the country's watchdog and the EU pull their mightier legal rank. Italy's banking revolution, which has been under way for more than 15 years, has entered a new and radical phase. Liberalisation, allowing bank managements new freedoms, the Amato Law, turning public-sector banks into joint stock companies, and the encouragement of privatisation brought sweeping changes to Italy's fossilised banking system during the 1990s.