The ever reliable Economist has an interesting article juxtaposing the, shall we say, divergent reactions of regulators in Italy and the United States following the discovery of monumental corporate frauds in each country. A brief snippit:

Another year, another scandal

Aug 4th 2005
The Economist Global Agenda

The latest scandals over a contested bank bid show that Italy has learned little from the spectacular collapse of dairy group Parmalat. The country’s reputation as a sensible place in which to invest has been badly damaged. But don't expect the government to do much about it.

Less than two years ago, the spectacular bankruptcy of Parmalat, a family-controlled Italian dairy group, sent shock waves throughout Italy. It was the biggest scandal in European corporate history, revealing a €14 billion ($17 billion) accounting hole that had grown over a decade of deception. The saga cast regulators, bankers and auditors in a desperately unfavourable light for not spotting the fraud much more quickly than they did.

Europe’s Enron offered a chance for the comprehensive reform of Italy’s financial regulation that it so badly needs. Yet the growing scandal over the contested bids for Banca Antonveneta by Banca Popolare Italiana (BPI) and ABN Amro, a Dutch bank, shows that this opportunity was instead comprehensively missed...

Much more taking to task of Berlusconi's Italy in the full article.

-- MDT

Labels: Enron, Parmalat