Italy to Offer Bank Shares Again: The...

Italy to Offer Bank Shares Again: The government boosted its flagging privatization program by announcing it will sell all holdings in two large state banks, Credito Italiano and Banca Commerciale Italiana, by public offer. The method of sale indicated the difficulty the government is having in getting the plan off the ground: Earlier attempts to sell Credito by inviting competitive bids from large domestic and foreign institutions failed. Based on current market values, the Instituto per la Ricostruzione Industriale--the state holding company that controls both banks--would hold shares of Credito worth $1.43 billion and shares of BCI worth approximately $1.62 billion, analysts said.