The Italian banking sector was in disarray yesterday as Antonio Fazio, governor of the central bank, faced mounting calls for his resignation.

Senior members of the Italian Government were meeting last night to discuss the scandal surrounding Signor Fazio, who has been accused of attempting to block the Dutch takeover of an Italian bank in favour of a local rival’s bid instead.

Consob, Italy’s market regulator, announced that it had suspended Banca Popolare Italiana’s (BPI) bid for Banca Antonveneta because of a “serious lack of transparency”.

In a further twist, ABN Amro, of the Netherlands, which has a minority holding in Banca Antonveneta, took de facto control of the bank after an extraordinary general meeting of Antonveneta’s shareholders elected a 15- member board composed of ABN Amro candidates.

Behind the conflict is the wider issue of Italian protectionism in the run-up to the general election expected next spring. The Italian Left has joined ABN Amro in accusing Signor Fazio of attempting to keep Antonveneta in Italian hands at all costs instead of judging the Dutch bid in terms of its value to the ailing Italian economy.

The row flared up this week when the Italian press published extracts from wiretapped phone conversations between Signor Fazio and Gianpiero Fiorani, chief executive of BPI.

In the wiretaps, authorised by Italian prosecutors investigating market rigging, Signor Fazio asked Signor Fiorani on July 5 to visit him at Bank of Italy headquarters, adding: “The only thing, enter as usual from the back”, to which Signor Fiorani replied: “OK, otherwise there will be problems.” On July 12, Signor Fazio was recorded making a further call to Signor Fiorani to say that he had approved BPI’s offer for Antonveneta.

BPI insisted that it had acted properly at all times.