August 27, 2006	Sunday	Sha'aban 2, 1427

MILAN, Aug 26: The boards of Banca Intesa and Sanpaolo IMI, Italy's second and third-largest banks, met separately on Saturday to seal a merger plan to create one of Europe's top banks.

The link-up between the two banks will transform Italy's business landscape, put the new entity at the pinnacle of the country's still fragmented banking system and create a national champion able to fend off foreign bank takeovers.—Reuters