Italian central bank chief Fazio resigns (Financial Times)

[seafan]

Italian central bank chief Fazio resigns
By Adrian Michaels in Milan
Published: December 19 2005 16:30 | Last updated: December 19 2005 17:33


Antonio Fazio resigned on Monday as governor of the Bank of Italy, after being disgraced by a scandal that has seen arrests of prominent financiers, allegations of embezzlement of hundreds of millions of euros and taken a heavy toll on the reputation of the Italian business environment.

Mr Fazio had withstood calls for his resignation as the storm gathered over the banking scandal in the summer. But the calls reached fever pitch over the weekend after the arrest last week of Gianpiero Fiorani, a banker very close to the former governor who has been accused by prosecutors of running a criminal network for personal gain.

The governor quit on Monday on the eve of an emergency Italian cabinet meeting to discuss new laws that could have forced him from office. Two senior members of the Bank’s own board met Mr Fazio on Monday afternoon as internal support for the governor crumbled.

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But Mr Fazio was undermined fatally this year as he became ever more embroiled in a scandal surrounding the takeover battle for two Italian banks, Banca Antonveneta and Banca Nazionale del Lavoro. They were targets of two foreign banks and the governor was accused by critics of improperly favouring domestic rivals over the foreigners.

http://news.ft.com/cms/s/47eb52f6-70aa-11da-89d3-0000779e2340.html