The official site of Italy's central bank

Functions and Governance

The Bank of Italy’s functional and governance arrangements are based on a variety of different legal sources: Community law, which regulates the activity of the European System of Central Banks (ESCB), the provisions of banking and financial law concerning its supervisory powers, other provisions governing its relations with the Ministry for the Economy and Finance and other authorities, and its Statute.

Within the Eurosystem, of which it is an integral part, the Bank contributes to monetary policy decisions through the participation of the Governor in the Governing Council of the European Central Bank and of its experts in the Eurosystem committees and working groups that perform the necessary technical analysis.
It performs these functions under Article 105 of the EC Treaty and Article 3 of the Statute of the European System of Central Banks.

At national level, an indirect reference to the Bank’s functions can be found in Article 47(1) of the Constitution, which provides for the protection of savings (“The Republic encourages and protects saving in all its forms, it regulates, coordinates and controls the provision of credit”).

The main legal sources concerning the Bank’s functions and organization are:
• Legislative Decree 385/1993 (the Consolidated Law on Banking);
• Legislative Decree 58/1998 (the Consolidated Law on Finance);
• Legislative Decree 43/1998, which adapts Italian law to the provisions of the EC Treaty on monetary policy and the European System of Central Banks;
• Law 262/2005, containing provisions for the protection of savings and the regulation of financial markets;
• Legislative Decree 303/2006, containing provisions coordinating the Consolidated Law on Banking and the Consolidated Law on Finance with Law 262/2005;
• the Bank’s new Statute, approved by a Decree of the President of the Republic dated 12 December 2006.

• Community law: EC Treaty - ESCB Statute

• Consolidated Law on Banking (text only in Italian)
  Supervision › The legal framework for supervision › Italian law

• Consolidated Law on Finance

• Relations with the Ministry for the Economy and Finance: Regulation
  Central banking › Operations on behalf of the Ministry for the Economy and Finance › Money market operations

• Treasury services: Regulation (text only in Italian)
  Treasury services

• Legislative Decree 43/1998 (text only in Italian)
  Eurosystem and ESCB › Legal framework › Legal acts of the ECB

• Law 262/2005 - Article 19 (text only in Italian)
  Bank of Italy › Functions and Governance › Governance › Statute

• Legislative Decree 303/2006 - Article 4 (text only in Italian)
  Bank of Italy › Functions and Governance › Governance › Statute

• Bank of Italy Statute
  Bank of Italy › Functions and Governance › Governance › Statute