Italy to follow UK bailout plan

Italy will model its financial crisis package on Britain's hefty bank bailout, the government said yesterday as it sought to reassure savers shaken by the slide in shares of Italy's second-biggest bank, UniCredit.

Finance Minister Giulio Tremonti said after talks with the Bank of Italy and banking and industry leaders that Britain's offer to pump up to 50 billion pounds into retail banks was the action European Union leaders wanted.

A statement said the finance minister "agrees with the measures pre-announced this morning by the British government". Britain's Gordon Brown had called Italian premier Silvio Berlusconi to discuss London's response to the crisis, said another Italian cabinet minister.'