Italian banks posted losses, with Banco Popolare down 4.7%, Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena off 3.4%, and UniCredit shedding 2.1%.

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In Italy, Banco Popolare is off 14.66% so far this year.

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Unicredit is down 17.01%, Banco Monte Dei Paschi di Siena has lost 20.77%, Banca Popolare di Milano Scarl has dropped 21.39% and Intesa SanPaolo has plummeted 27.70%, according to data provided by Cantor.

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Consob, Italy's stockmarket regulator, ruled that Banca Popolare di Lodi acted improperly by failing to state it was working with other parties in building a controlling stake in Banca Antonveneta , a larger Italian rival that it wants to buy.

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Banca Popolare, an Italian bank.

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The first was the government's handling of the bizarre affair of Italy's central-bank governor, Antonio Fazio, who is accused of favouring a takeover bid by Banca Popolare Italiana (BPI) for Antonveneta, a larger Italian bank, over a rival bid from a Dutch bank, ABN Amro.

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