MILAN (AFX) - The governor of the Bank of Italy Mario Draghi said that Italian banks could achieve considerable synergies by merging and that domestic consolidation is one of the main drivers to pursue further growth.
'Positive prospects continue to remain linked (also) to the achievement of considerable synergies implicit in a domestic consolidation process,' Draghi said yesterday in Cagliari, Sardinia, in his first public speech after his appointment as governor in January.
Draghi also called for balanced regulations and warned over higher costs that a protectionist approach would generate.
Draghi said that current European legislation on takeovers is 'unsatisfactory' because it allows national governments to determine higher or lower levels of openness in ownership.
'This situation gives the possibility that cross-border consolidation is made not only on the basis of industrial and financial convenience but also for reasons of regulatory arbitrage,' he said. danilo.masoni@afxnews.com dm/ec COPYRIGHT Copyright AFX News Limited 2005. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of AFX News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of AFX News. AFX News and AFX Financial News Logo are registered trademarks of AFX News Limited