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Western EuropeAugust 1 2000

Italy's banks seek to compete in Europe

Italian banks reckon they are boosting efficiency and say politicians must now help by reducing the tax burden.
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Those who have seen Billy Wilder’s comedy Some Like It Hot may remember the scene where Mafia bosses gathered as “friends of Italian opera”.

As the public learned earlier this year, 13 big banks had been getting together in Italy as Gruppo degli Amici della Banca (group of friends of the bank). Nothing to do with organised crime, just friendly encounters to exchange information on volumes of business, interest rates, commissions and the like.

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