The Facebook ad system is largely self-serve and provides real-time feedback on the size of the target audience and the suggested bid range to achieve impressions.
Moreover, telephone conversations tapped by magistrates, who suspected that BPI was breaking the rules and had placed Gianpiero Fiorani, its boss, under surveillance, suggest that Mr Fazio intervened time and again to favour BPI's bid even though the bank was only one-third the size of its target and much less healthy.
Earlier this year America's Federal Reserve notified primary dealers that they would have to bid in auctions for a share of issuance that was in proportion to their size and number.