Italian authorities are set to spend as much as €17bn as part of a bailout for two regional banks, which will include transferring assets to Intesa Sanpaolo, Deborah Ball writes for The Wall Street Journal.

Veneto Banca and Banco Popolare di Vicenza, midsize lenders in the north east of Italy, have been struggling for several years. Last week, the European Central Bank said they were set to fail having "repeatedly breached supervisory capital requirements".