Italy's finance minister Pierre Carlo Padoan told me today that he didn't break any rules or pull any strings when he rescued the nation's bad banks. The $19 billion rescue of Veneto Banca and Banca Popolare was allowed under Italian law instead of the EU's stricter policies, which would have hit investors hard. Padoan denies it's a bailout. He also told me all procedures were followed. Critics say the Italian case sets a precedent and will make it easier for other countries to avoid pain and bail out banks. With these banks out of the way for now, there's speculation about who is next. Padoan said huge amounts of work had been done to clean up the Italian banking system. Things were moving in "the right direction" and there were no major crises brewing. He actually said he's "optimistic" The rest of the market isn't quite so optimistic. There is still a view that there are nasty things lurking in Italy's banks – and it may take more nifty footwork, like that seen this week, to truly clean up the mess. -Richard.Quest@cnn.com |
No comments:
Post a Comment