Unipol, the Italian insurer that owns one-half of a joint venture with Banca Nazionale del Lavoro, has sought permission from the Bank of Italy to increase its stake in the Italian bank to just under 10% and now plans to start buying shares.

If permission is granted, Unipol will be allowed to build a 9.99% stake in BNL, the target of a €6.2bn ($7.8bn) takeover from Spain's Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, before having to approach the Bank of Italy again.