Italy is working on a plan to recapitalise three small lenders under special administration by raising cash through a fund financed by healthy banks, a financial source told Reuters on Friday. The banks are Cassa di Risparmio di Ferrara (Carife), Banca Marche and Banca Popolare dell'Etruria e del Lazio, all of which were placed under special administration by the Bank of Italy because of serious capital shortfalls.

Reports of suspicious bank transactions in Italy jumped 10 per cent to a record high last year as the pervasive problems of organised crime, corruption and tax evasion were exacerbated by a three-year economic slump, the central bank said on Monday, the Irish Times reported. The financial downturn had given cash-rich mafia groups the opportunity to tighten their grip on the economy as, with banks reducing lending, the criminal networks boosted their investments in the real economy, investigators have said.

Italian bonds halted a two-day drop and the nation sold €6.8 billion of debt, a sign of investor confidence that fallout from Greece’s financial crisis can be contained, the Irish Times reported. Italy’s sale included €2.9 billion of 10-year bonds and €1.5 billionof five-year securities. While the bid-to- cover ratio, a gauge of investor demand, was the lowest since December for the longer-maturity bonds, it increased for the shorter-dated notes.

Banca Marche, which was put under special administration in 2013, said on Thursday it had repaid 1.8 billion euros ($2.01 billion) it owed to Credito Fondiario, Reuters reported. The unlisted lender said some of its senior bonds and other securities that were guaranteeing the loan obtained by Credito Fondiario have been sold on the market. The sale has allowed Banca Marche to repay the loan to Credito Fondiario and also to pocket some money, the lender said without giving details.

All European eyes will be anxiously turned to Greece in the coming days, but Italian eyes are turned more anxiously than most, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Italian businessman Philippe Camperio is spearheading efforts to rescue troubled luxury hat maker Borsalino after it lost millions of euros in 2013, the company said on Wednesday, Reuters reported. In March the hat maker, which has helped clothe politicians, celebrities and movie stars the world over, said it was looking at ways to stay afloat after running into financial straits.

Italy’s financial police have released sobering statistics about fraud and corruption in Italy’s public sector: Of the €4.6 billion ($5 billion) worth of public contracts checked last year, they found €1.5 billion in fraud and €2.6 billion wasted, The Wall Street Journal reported on an Associated Press story. The financial police released their annual report for 2014 on Wednesday, saying they had made police reports against 3,700 people for crimes against public administration.

Rizzo Bottiglieri de Carlini Armatori SpA, a marine freight transportation services provider, moved to shield its U.S. assets by filing a bankruptcy petition in Texas after seeking protection from creditors in Italy, Bloomberg News reported. The company filed under Chapter 15 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, which would prevent creditors from taking action against the company’s U.S.-based assets while it reorganizes under Italian law. The company listed assets and debt of more than $500 million each in court documents filed Wednesday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Houston.

Stricken Italian Serie A side Parma were officially declared bankrupt on Thursday, a day after their chairman Giampietro Manenti was arrested in a money-laundering probe, Reuters reported. Parma's players have not been paid all season and it took just 10 minutes for a court to declare the club, rooted to the bottom of the league after finishing sixth last season, bankrupt. They have twice been docked points this season and are more than 100 million euros ($106.65 million) in debt. The court in Parma appointed accountants Angelo Anedda and Alberto Guiotto as receivers.

Stricken Italian Serie A side Parma were officially declared bankrupt on Thursday, a day after their chairman Giampietro Manenti was arrested in a money-laundering probe, Reuters reported. Parma's players have not been paid all season and it took just 10 minutes for a court to declare the club, rooted to the bottom of the league after finishing sixth last season, bankrupt. They have twice been docked points this season and are more than 100 million euros ($106.65 million) in debt. The court in Parma appointed accountants Angelo Anedda and Alberto Guiotto as receivers.