President Italiaanse centrale bank Fazio treedt af (en)

The European Commission will continue its legal action against Italy for obstructing a foreign takeover of an Italian bank, despite the resignation of the country's central bank governor over the issue.

Antonio Fazio, the governor of the Bank of Italy, allegedly favoured the Italian Banca Popolare Italiana over Dutch group ABN Amro Holding and Spanish bank Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA in the takeover battle for Banca Antonveneta SpA.

Reports on Mr Fazio's stance had sparked strong criticism both home and abroad, with Mr Fazio refusing to step down for months despite calls from national politicians.

The EU executive reacted with a legal action against Rome concerning the takeover case, which remains in place despite Mr Fazio's resignation on Monday (19 December).

"The (action) is not against Mr Fazio. It is against the member state", a commission spokesman explained.

The governor's resignation comes as a relief to the European Central Bank (ECB), where he was sitting as Italy's member of the governing council.

The ECB stated it respected Mr Fazio's decision as well as his judgement that "this was the best decision to take", according to Financial Times.

The Frankfurt-based bank's authorities had feared the case could prompt Italian politicians to adopt rules allowing for national politicians to force the central bank's governors out of office, endangering the central bank's independence.