BUSINESS NEWS - Further fragility in the Italian banking industry has been highlighted by the country's biggest bank announcing ambitious plans to raise a huge sum of money to remove bad debts from its balance sheet.
The move comes as Italy's third largest bank tries to avoid a government bailout.
Some fear Italy will be forced to withdraw from the Eurozone or require huge bailouts, like Greece.
Italy's largest bank, UniCredit, plans to raise €13 billion in the country's biggest-ever share issue to shore up its balance sheet and shield itself from a broader banking crisis.
The plans announced on Tuesday also include 14,000 job cuts and more than 900 branch closures.
They come at a turbulent time for Italian banks and the economy with Monte dei Paschi di Siena at risk of failure, a new government just installed in Rome and early elections expected next year.
UniCredit, the only Italian bank deemed important to the stability of the global financial system, has lost about half its market value this year, hit by profitability concerns, bad loans and a weaker balance sheet than major European rivals.
