Bloomberg reports that Bridgewater has bet $713 million against Italian financials

Ray Dalio's Bridgewater Associates has a $713 million position against Italian financials, according to regulatory filings uncovered by Bloomberg.

The positions include:

  • Intesa Sanpaolo
  • UniCredit
  • Assicurazioni Generali
  • Prysmian SpA, which is the world's largest cable maker
  • Banco BPM
  • UBI Banca
  • Bper Banca

More than half the bet is against Intesa and Unicredit.

Bridgewater didn't comment but the bet may stem from the belief that banks will struggle under tougher new ECB standards on bad loans.