E.U. Commission Approves Billions in Aid for 2 Italian Banks
The European Commission approved plans by the Italian government to provide 4.8 billion euros, or $5.4 billion, in cash
and 12 billion euros in guarantees to protect depositors of the troubled lenders, Banca Popolare di Vicenza and Veneto Banca.
The risk of market turmoil in reaction to the difficulties of Banca Popolare di Vicenza
and Veneto Banca helped account for the unaccustomed speed displayed by the European authorities over the weekend, as well as the large injection of aid, which the Italian government said would initially amount to €5.2 billion.
By late Sunday, the European Central Bank, the European Commission
and the Italian authorities had moved to make sure Banca Popolare di Vicenza and Veneto Banca would open for business as usual Monday.
By JACK EWINGJUNE 25, 2017
The sometimes creaky machinery of the European Union moved swiftly on Sunday to keep the struggles
of two small Italian banks from undercutting confidence in the country’s fragile banking system.
The move to protect the two banks comes less than three weeks after the first test of a new system
created to dissolve ailing banks with minimal disruption to the European Union financial system.
The action came after the European Central Bank said late Friday
that the two banks had failed or were likely to fail, a precondition for winding them down.