MILAN, Italy, Sept. 15 (UPI) -- The long struggle by Italy's financial establishment to block foreigners from buying banks in their country has ended in failure.
After months of legal and financial maneuvering, the Netherlands' ABN Amro won its takeover battle for Banca Antonveneta after its rival, Banca Popolare Italiana, agreed to sell its stake in Antonveneta to the Dutch company, the BBC reported Thursday.
The board of BPI, far smaller than Antonveneta, agreed Wednesday to sell its 29.5-percent stake in Antonveneta to Amro, in a deal that will increase Amro's share of Antonveneta to 60 percent.
The BPI board gave up efforts to buy Antonveneta after increasing public displeasure with Antonio Fazio, the powerful governor of the Bank of Italy whose alleged machinations to help block Amro are subjecting him to legal and political pressures. Those pressures have made it difficult for Fazio to continue supporting BPI's attempt to buy the much larger Antonveneta.
Upon the deal's completion next week, Amro will become the first non-Italian company to have bought a major Italian bank.
