To mark the 150th anniversary of Banca Popolare di Vicenza, executive chairman Gianni Zonin rented out a local convention centre to host a high-profile conference that would be attended by Italy’s top finance executives.

It never happened. Zonin resigned in November 2015, his bank dogged by bad loans, thin capital and questions about the legality of some business practices. The bank, which had planned to open its 1,000th branch in 2016, instead will close 150 and is likely to be swallowed up by a stronger competitor.