Intesa Sanpaolo

RCI Banque was one of four corporate issuers in the European bond market on Tuesday, as it printed €600m of seven year notes that won the skinniest new issue premium of the day.

The failure of the IPO of Banca Popolare di Vicenza leaves full responsibility for the bank’s future with the hastily put together Fondo Atlante — and is a poor omen for the listing of Veneto Banca, due to roll forward after a shareholder meeting this week.

Banca Popolare di Vicenza’s board is to meet later this afternoon to consider the results of its €1.5bn IPO, for which the bookbuild closed earlier today (Friday April 29).

UBI Banca became the first Italian lender to print tier two capital this year on Wednesday, laying the foundations for more periphery capital to follow.

Investing in Italy's bank recapitalisation fund could weaken larger lenders' vulnerable capital ratios, according to Moody’s.

Several of Europe’s IPOs moved forward today, with coverage and pricing updates and the launches of bookbuilds.

Italy’s strongest banks are to contribute to a fund that will back-stop the capital raises of weaker lenders, in a deal brokered by the government that has drawn scepticism from many investors, but optimism from others. Tom Porter reports.

Consolidation has been a perennial theme in Italian finance, but the country has little to show for it. This time is different.

Banco Popolare and Banca Popolare di Milano will merge to form Italy’s third largest bank by assets, having been granted permission by the European Central Bank on Wednesday evening. The deal may trigger further consolidation in Italy, and is could be a crucial step towards the modernisation of the country’s fragmented banking sector.

Two equity block trades or rapid sales were completed successfully in Europe on Monday night.

Two block trades have been launched in Europe this evening (Monday March 21), in shares of Iren, the Italian multi-utility group, and IMCD, the Dutch speciality chemicals distribution company. While IMCD has been the subject of three previous block trades, there have been none in Iren, according to Dealogic.

Intesa SanPaolo captured the robust improvement in peripheral market sentiment following the European Central Bank’s meeting last week with its €1.25bn seven year.