Shares in Azimut 
AZM plunged 14% on Thursday after the Italian asset manager provided further details on the findings of an inspection carried out by the Bank of Italy.
In a statement issued overnight at the behest of markets watchdog Consob to clarify previous press releases, Azimut said that the Bank of Italy had found “significant governance and organisational shortcomings” at its Azimut Capital Management SGR unit.
Azimut said the supervisor had ordered it to quickly remedy the situation and put in place an organisational structure adequate to the complexity of the group’s operations.
Based on its 2024 financial accounts, Azimut operates in 18 countries and comprises the holding company Azimut Holding SpA and 73 subsidiaries.
Pending the remediation measures, which the Bank of Italy will assess to ensure the shortfalls have been addressed, Azimut Capital Management SGR cannot take part in any extraordinary transactions, the company said.
Azimut has been planning to spin off a chunk of its network of financial advisers and acquire a banking licence to set up a digital bank dubbed TNB.
Azimut said that adopting the remedies and overcoming the organisational issues raised by the Bank of Italy was not in itself a guarantee that the supervisory approval process for the project would have a positive outcome.