UniCredit is in talks with the government of Rome to seek support for a €2bn capital raising at mutual bank Popolare di Vicenza, a deal which is viewed as a critical test of investor confidence in Italy's banks. The Italian banking sector has been hit by bad loans and rising interest rates since Silvio Berlusconi was forced from office last year.
UniCredit is in talks with the government of Rome to seek support for a €2bn capital raising at mutual bank Popolare di Vicenza, a deal which is viewed as a critical test of investor confidence in Italy's banks. Italy's lenders have lost around a quarter of their value since the beginning of the year due to concerns over their bloated exposure to €360bn of gross non-performing loans, equivalent to around a fifth of GDP.