The Bank of Italy on Tuesday rejected the €8bn takeover offer by Italian insurer Unipol for Banca Nazionale del Lavoro, delivering the final blow to a bid which had been delayed by months of regulatory investigation and beset by scandal.

Giovanni Consorte, Unipol’s former chairman and chief executive, was forced to resign as Italy’s broader banking scandals engulfed numerous prominent financiers and led to the resignation of Antonio Fazio, governor of the Bank of Italy. Mr Consorte and Mr Fazio maintain they have done nothing wrong.