Banking

“What is not clear is who will be doing the buying. By snapping up the healthiest second-tier lender, Intesa has removed the candidate slated to lead long-awaited deals between the handful of mid-market players which are most at risk from the threats facing the sector.” – by Valentina Za

“Intesa Sanpaolo, Italy’s biggest domestic lender, has launched a €4.86bn ($5.26bn) takeover bid for its rival UBI Banca in an audacious attempt to kick-start consolidation in Italy’s fragmented banking sector.” – by Stephen Morris, Arash Massoudi and Laurence Fletcher

“Will Brexit damage Britain’s financial services industry? Or is talk of its diminished status just a storm in a teacup? The City of London could move closer to Wall Street or it might become ‘Singapore-on-Thames’.” –  Nicholas Barrett talks to Rebecca Christie

“Profits for European private banks dropped by the most since the global financial crisis last year as muted investor inflows, weakness in financial markets and rising costs combined to reduce earnings.” – by Chris Flood