Banca Popolare di Vicenza’s board meets today; Veneto Banca’s meets tomorrow. They are unlikely to be merry affairs. The two ailing, mid-size Italian lenders need €6.4bn ($7.2bn) in extra capital between them. Of that they must raise €1.2bn in private money, in order for the European Commission to allow the state to put up the rest. Both were bought last year by Atlante, a private bank-rescue fund established at the government’s behest—it has already ruled out handing over more cash. Now the rest of the banking system is deciding whether to cough up, to avoid the far larger expense of winding down the banks. Under Italian law, deposits of up to €100,000 are guaranteed by a depositors’ protection fund, financed by the country’s healthier banks. That could amount to some €11bn. A decision either way is expected soon. A real resurrection of the banks is not.