Mr Profumo was keen on grand schemes when he was at UniCredit but that is in the past.

ECONOMIST: The world��s oldest bank plans its future

Profumo had resigned and devoted himself to work among the poor, in the East End, and the saga had grown cold.

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Mr Profumo has made a good fist of merging banks, cutting costs and raising profitability in Italy, but further consolidation at home is difficult.

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Mr Profumo himself is at a crossroads: some surmise that, if this merger is shelved, a career in politics will be his next step.

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Last year the bank appointed Alessandro Profumo -- former CEO of Italy's biggest bank UniCredit -- as chairman and Fabrizio Viola as chief executive.

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He went on to make REM's third album Fables of the Reconstruction and was executive producer on the 1988 film Scandal about the Profumo affair.

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Although Mr Profumo and Mr Viola both say they want MPS to remain independent, some believe the aim is to bash the bank into shape for potential buyers.

ECONOMIST: The world��s oldest bank plans its future

Huhne's name will now be added to that list of John Profumo, Jonathan Aitken and Jeffrey Archer, politicians all brought down by their ability to lie to Parliament or the courts.

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