Following a difficult few years, Italy's banks received a windfall from the central bank after the institution revalued its share 'capital', but other eurozone lenders claim that this gives Italian players an unfair advantage in the upcoming asset quality review.

Roberto Nicastro, UniCredit Group’s general manager, explains how Italy’s largest bank is tackling conflicting regulatory pressures, low interest rates and changing customer habits to become a bank for the future.

The resilience of the Italian economy should not be underestimated, says the CEO of Intesa Sanpaolo, and the country, which is now on the road to recovery, should no longer be considered as part of the flailing eurozone periphery.

The rollercoaster ride that Italy's Mediobanca has embarked upon since the crisis hit has seen the bank change its leadership, embrace retail banking, look to shed its equity in a number of leading Italian companies, and seek to no longer tie up its stakes in shareholder pacts. David Lane assesses the impact of these moves.

Management, shareholders and regulators all seem to carry some of the blame for allowing Monte dei Paschi to acquire Antonveneta, which created uncontrollable risks for what had previously been one of Italy's more conservative banks.

A strategic alliance in equities with a brokerage firm and the massive strengthening of the balance sheet have helped put UniCredit's corporate and investment bank ahead of the pack, according to deputy chief executive Olivier Khayat.

A covered bond placed with a yield well inside the Italian government provides a reassuring signal that the country’s largest bank by assets, UniCredit, has a viable funding plan to ride out the sovereign crisis.