Banks Restructuring and Resolution in Italy (2015-2016): Lessons from Recent Italian Regulatory Experiences

1.- Crises in context: a brief preamble; 2.- Act One: The first banking package on significant cooperative banks (“banche popolari“) and their compulsory transformation of legal form into joint stock compa- nies; 3.- Act Two: Implementation of CRD IV/CRR and the new prudential framework; 4.- Act Three: Imple- mentation of BRRD; 5.- Act Four: November 2015 4 banks resolution under the newly enacted Italian rules; 6.- Act Five: A new solidarity fund and a new year law establishing an Italian guarantee scheme for securitised NPLs and mandating the affiliation of Italian credit unions to a group; 7.- Act Six: Banca popolare di Vicenza failed capital increase, its resur- rection through an Italian Atlas (with narrow shoul- ders) and Law Decree No 59 of 3 May 2016; 8.- What next? The first merger between Banco Popolare and BPM, Veneto Banca saga and some preliminary con- clusions on the phantom of the opera.