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Fazio defends his role in bank takeover battlePosted by Retirement on: 2005-10-10 20:41:03 in category:
Retirement Headlines [ Print | Permalink / 0 Comment(s) ] By Adrian Michaels in Milan and Tony Barber in Rome Published: October 11 2005 03:00 | Last updated: October 11 2005 03:00 Antonio Fazio, the Bank of Italy governor, yesterday offered his strongest defence yet of his role in a controversial takeover battle which has seen him put under investigation for abuse of office and led to widespread calls for his resignation. Mr Fazio was questioned for almost five hours yesterday by prosecutors in Rome. Although he made no comment after the session, his lawyer took the unusual step of sending to the media a memorandum signed by Mr Fazio which was submitted to investigators. Mr Fazio has been accused by his critics of favouring an Italian bank - Banca Popolare Italiana - in a takeover bid for Banca Antonveneta, and ignoring deficiencies and irregularities in BPI's bid so as to thwart a foreign takeover. ABN Amro of the Netherlands also wanted to buy Antonveneta and was losing the battle until the BPI bid collapsed recently amid criminal investigations of wrongdoing by its executives and allies. Mr Fazio has ignored appeals for his resignation from Silvio Berlusconi, prime minister, and other politicians, businessmen and former regulators who contend that the affair has damaged the reputation of Italy's financial system. The governor, in his defence yesterday, stated that the Bank of Italy's study of BPI was "tackled with full awareness and seriousness, and without discrimination and favouritism". He acknowledged that there were doubts over the financial soundness of BPI, and over its solidity if it succeeded in buying Antonveneta, but said: "I deemed them not sufficient to outweigh the undeniably positive aspects of the proposed [merger] plan." Mr Fazio states repeatedly that the Bank of Italy's own inspectors portrayed BPI's merger plans in a positive light. He has been criticised for overruling the negative opinions on BPI held by two inspectors, but yesterday Mr Fazio said the two men had been largely positive at other times in the takeover battle. Mr Fazio also said the Bank of Italy's procedures for judging the soundness of a tender offer needed to be viewed separately from judicial investigations into the behaviour of BPI's executives, including Gianpiero Fiorani, then BPI's chief executive and a Fazio family friend. "It is absolutely fundamental", Mr Fazio says, "not to confuse the study of the behaviour of the [BPI] management - in particular Fiorani - and the Bank of Italy's internal inquest into the request to launch a tender offer [for Antonveneta]." The memorandum said that, after Consob, the Italian markets regulator, found evidence that Mr Fiorani and allies had been acting illegally together to buy Antonveneta shares, the Bank of Italy had started sanctions procedures against them. Mr Fazio is at pains to point out that the approval process for a tender offer is conducted under strict guidelines, and that the central bank's vigilance does not end as soon as authorisation to launch an offer has been granted. "The authorisation of an offer does not mean the delivery of the target into the hands of the bank requesting authorisation - the final judgment is therefore the market's." BPI and allies had however control of well over half of Antonveneta shares when the Bank of Italy gave a green light to the tender offer. Mr Fazio says he was not trying to stop ABN because of its nationality, but he admits to doubts about ABN's commitment to businesses in Antonveneta's base of north-east Italy. Yesterday was the first time that Mr Fazio had met the prosecutors since they disclosed in late September that they had placed him under investigation on August 1. Mr Fazio has not been charged with an offence. Homepage Other open community sites http://www.business-business.biz Please support our sponsors: To design your custom retirement plan. http://www.retirement-plan.us For planning IRA rollovers. http://www.ira-rollover.us Professional asset allocation and the wonders it can do. http://www.asset-allocation.us Professional money management- Nationally ranked performance. http://www.roth-ira.us Managers selected to fit your needs. http://www.money-managers.us |
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