On Tuesday 2 May, the European Commission approved the sale of three bridge banks - Nuova Banca Marche, Nuova Banca Etruria and Nuova Carichietei - to the Union of Italian Banks (UBI Banca).
The European institution concluded that the process for the sale of the three banks, which was conducted by the Italian authorities, selected the best offer on the market. Additionally, UBI Banca's acquisition plan was found to comply with the European State aid rules, in particular the 2013 Communication on bank restructuring.
The three bridge banks, which were created in November 2015 when Banca delle Marche, Banca Popolare dell'Etruria e del Lazio and Cassa di Risparmio della Provincia di Chieti were put into resolution, were required to sell their non-performing bank loans to a third party. The Italian resolution fund contributed with an injection of €810 million in additional capital into the three bridge banks. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)