MILAN / REUTERS Banca Popolare di Vicenza faces legal claims of upto 1.65 billion euros ($1.9 billion) from clients who allege they were misled into buying its shares, potentially undermining a state-backed rescue of the loss-making bank. Italy’s eighth-largest bank revealed the legal risks in a 950-page prospectus for its initial public offering, aimed at raising money to shore ...

  Bloomberg Apollo Global Management LLC said it plans to use its purchase of Nova Kreditna Banka Maribor (KBM) to build a regional “champion” that will compete with three other main banking groups in a streamlined industry. Apollo, which completed the 250 million-euros ($284 million) takeover this week, wants to merge Nova KBM with Postna Banka Slovenije and Raiffeisen Bank ...

  Bloomberg The European Central Bank (ECB) said it plans to start buying corporate bonds in June as it unveiled more details of its purchase programme. The bank will start buying corporate bonds maturing between six months and 30 years, according to a statement on the bank’s website. Purchases will include bonds issued by insurance companies, while excluding those sold ...