The main functions of the Bank of Italy are designed to ensure monetary and financial stability, indispensable conditions for lasting growth of the economy.
The Bank contributes to the decisions on the single monetary policy of the euro area and performs the tasks entrusted to it as a central bank forming part of the Eurosystem. It is responsible for implementing these decisions within Italy through operations with credit institutions, open market operations, standing facilities and the management of required reserves. It may carry out foreign exchange operations in accordance with the rules laid down by the Eurosystem. It manages the country's own foreign exchange reserves and a part of those of the ECB on the latter's behalf. It is responsible for producing the quantity of euro banknotes established by the Eurosystem, managing the currency in circulation and fighting against forgery.
The Bank promotes the smooth functioning of the payment system through its operation of the main circuits and by providing guidance, regulation and control under its oversight powers. This activity, coupled with market supervision, is intended to contribute to the stability of the financial system and foster the effectiveness of monetary policy.
The Bank performs services for the State by carrying out treasury operations (public sector receipts and disbursements), acting as agent for the public debt, and combating usury.
In order to increase the effectiveness of its performance of monetary policy tasks and other functions, the Bank undertakes a large volume of research in the economic, financial and legal fields.
As the supervisory authority, the Bank seeks to ensure the sound and prudent management of intermediaries, the overall stability and efficiency of the financial system and compliance with the rules and regulations of those subject to supervision.
The Bank contributes to banking and financial regulation, in part by participating in international committees. It coordinates its activity with the other financial supervisory authorities in various ways.
The Bank protects customers by supervising the transparency and fairness of the conduct of banking and financial institutions, strengthening the instruments for individual customer protection and improving the level of financial literacy in the country.
The Bank's activity includes a high level of international commitments concerning central bank functions and financial stability in particular. It takes part in cooperation in the various groups and committees at European level and in multilateral fora. It also provides technical assistance to the regulatory authorities of emerging and transition countries.
- Monetary policy
- Foreign exchange market and official reserves
- Operations on behalf of the Ministry for the Economy and Finance
- Investment portfolio
- Payment systems operations
- Market supervision
- Payment system oversight
- Treasury functions
- Note issue
- Economics, research and international relations
- Supervision
- Consumer protection and financial education
- Crisis Management
Monetary policy
According to Article 105 of the EC Treaty, price stability is the primary objective of the Eurosystem, which comprises the European Central Bank and the central banks of the Member States that have adopted the euro. Without prejudice to price stability, the Eurosystem will support the general economic policies of the EU with a view to contributing to the achievement of the objectives of the EU, which include balanced economic growth and an highly competitive social market economy aiming at full employment and social progress. The objective of the Eurosystem is pursued through the single monetary policy.
The Bank of Italy contributes to Eurosystem monetary policy decisions through the participation of the Governor in the Governing Council of the ECB. The economic analyses carried out by the Bank of Italy's staff are an important contribution to the discussion and decision-making process in the Council and the Eurosystem's technical committees and working groups.
The ECB Governing Council, following the review of its monetary strategy in July 2021, considers that price stability is best maintained by aiming for two per cent inflation over the medium term.
The Eurosystem pursues price stability over a medium-term horizon by moving very-short-term money market interest rates. To keep them at the level deemed appropriate, the Council uses a variety of instruments, including changes in the official rates and regulation of the quantity of reserves on the interbank market by means of open-market operations.
Important elements of the operational model adopted by the Eurosystem include standing facilities and the required reserves regime, whereby credit institutions have to hold deposits on accounts opened with the central bank.
The Governing Council's decisions regarding official interest rates determine the conditions of credit institutions' fund-raising. Through a complex process known as the 'monetary policy transmission mechanism' these decisions are reflected, to varying degrees, in the yields of other markets (e.g. banks' deposit and lending rates), in households' and firms' saving, expenditure and investment decisions and, ultimately, in the economy in general and the level of prices in particular.
The implementation of monetary policy is based on the principle of subsidiarity, under which the operations of the Eurosystem are normally carried out by the central banks of the individual participating countries.
Foreign exchange market and official reserve
The tasks and functions entrusted to the Bank of Italy within the European institutional framework include foreign exchange market interventions and management of the foreign reserves.
Consistently with the rules governing the Eurosystem, the Bank of Italy contributes to interventions on the foreign exchange market. It may be called upon to intervene on the market together with the other national central banks and the European Central Bank.
It participates daily in the teleconference with the other main central banks in order to establish the indicative exchange rates of the euro against 35 currencies; on the basis of these quotations, the ECB calculates the effective exchange rate of the euro. In addition, the Bank of Italy takes part in the meetings in which the central banks participating in the new Exchange Rate Mechanism report on their foreign exchange market activity.
The legal system assigns the ownership of Italy's official reserves to the Bank of Italy; under Article 105(2) of the EC Treaty, they are an integral part of the reserves of the Eurosystem, together with the reserves owned by the ECB.
The official reserves are of fundamental importance both for the Bank and for the Eurosystem. In the first place the ECB can request the individual central banks to supply reserves to meet special needs. In the second place the national reserves permit the servicing of Republic of Italy foreign currency debt while avoiding possible distortionary effects on the market and the fulfilment of commitments vis-à-vis international organizations such as the International Monetary Fund. Lastly, since the official reserves of the individual national central banks are an integral part of those of the Eurosystem, their overall level and proper management contribute to safeguarding the credibility of the ESCB.
The Bank manages the reserves by investing them directly in international markets; it administers, in parallel with the other Eurosystem central banks and on the basis of criteria and objectives established by the Governing Council of the ECB, a part of the foreign reserves assigned to the European Central Bank at the start of Monetary Union.
Operations on behalf of the Ministry for the Economy and Finance
The Bank of Italy performs some activities on behalf of the Ministry for the Economy and Finance, including the placement and service of public securities on the domestic market and acting as fiscal agent for securities issued on international markets.
On behalf of the Ministry for the Economy and Finance the Bank organizes and carries out activities concerning the placement and redemption of public securities and services the debt. It cooperates with the Ministry in establishing issue policy and prepares alternative plans for financing the borrowing requirement through the issue of securities.
Among the Bank's tasks in this field are the daily calculation and periodic publication of the average weighted yield of a basket of BTPs with a residual life of more than one year ('Rendistato').
For the purposes of the anti-usury law and with reference to the categories of transactions specified annually by the Ministry, the Bank collects the data needed for the calculation of average effective interest rates.
Investment portfolio
The management of the Bank's securities portfolio contributes to covering its operating costs and safeguarding the solidity of its assets.
In addition to holding and managing the country's foreign reserves, the Bank manages a portfolio of other investments with the objective of contributing to covering its operating costs and safeguarding the solidity of its assets against the risks to which it is exposed in the performance of its functions.
The investments the Bank makes, under any title, are subject to the prohibition on monetary financing referred to in Articles 101 and 102 of the EC Treaty; purchases on the primary market of securities issued by euro-area countries or institutions are therefore prohibited, while those on the secondary market are subject to monitoring thresholds.
In addition, the Bank makes temporary investments of liquidity (overnight deposits) on a daily basis as part of the provision of Eurosystem reserve management services to non-euro-area central banks and international organizations in connection with the management of their euro reserves.
Payment systems operations
Promoting the smooth functioning of payment systems is among the fundamental tasks performed by the ESCB (Article 171(2) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and Articles 3 and 22 of the Protocol on the Statute of the European System of Central Banks and of the European Central Bank). This objective is pursued jointly by the ECB and the national central banks (NCBs).
In Italy, the Consolidated Law on Banking entrusts specific tasks to Banca d'Italia in the area of payment systems (Article 146 of Legislative Decree 385/1993).
More generally, driven by the need to ensure that common operating standards are adopted by the market and procedures harmonized throughout the area, the Eurosystem promotes the efficiency, stability and security of the payment system in various ways, ranging from the direct provision of payment services to the fostering of cooperation between market players and the activities of moral suasion, regulation and control that typify the oversight function.
In the large-value payments system, TARGET2 (Trans-European Automated Real-time Gross settlement Express Transfer system) permits payments to be made in real time in central bank money and to be settled on a gross basis (i.e. one by one and in full, without netting, on accounts open with the central banks), guaranteeing their immediate finality. TARGET2 uses a Single Shared Platform (SSP) to settle the payment orders made by users. The SSP was developed by the central banks of France, Germany and Italy (3CBs) and is jointly operated by Banca d'Italia and Deutsche Bundesbank. The platform provides an efficient and harmonized service to all the participating countries, based on the highest business continuity and security standards. The technical and operational features of TARGET2 help to mitigate systemic risk throughout the Eurozone, i.e. the risk of a series of defaults by individual participants spreading to other financial intermediaries, also in view of the large number and high value of interbank payments. Moreover, by allowing participants to exchange funds in real time, the system can ensure uniform interbank market rates, enabling the smooth transmission of monetary policy impulses, and is therefore a vital infrastructure for the financial integration of the euro area.
In the customer payments segment the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) has been in operation since 2008. In the single payments area all non-cash payments in euro are made based on common standards so as to increase the system's efficiency and thereby significantly reduce payment execution times and costs for customers. The launch of SEPA has eliminated the differences between national and cross-border payments in the euro area.
Moreover, the Bank is currently working on the implementation of the TARGET Instant Payment Settlement (TIPS) service, a pan-European platform for the settlement of instant payments in real time and in central bank money. Instant payments are customer payment orders that must be settled within seconds of their transmission. The platform, which is operational 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, provides a new solution for the settlement of instant payments throughout Europe, increasing the efficiency of the financial services provided to citizens and firms. On 21 June 2017, the Governing Council of the ECB entrusted the initial development of TIPS to Banca d'Italia: the platform is operational as from November 2018.
Turning to securities transactions and again with a view to minimizing the risks and harmonizing the costs of executing cross-border transactions, in June 2015 the pan-European TARGET2-Securities (T2S) platform was launched. T2S permits securities transactions to be settled on a gross basis, in central bank money, and in multiple currencies. Today, with the launch of T2S, the procedures for the settlement of securities issued in one's own country or in another European country are identical. T2S makes it possible to simultaneously transfer securities and the related cash leg on the same centralized platform, which hosts the securities and cash accounts that are fed by the liquidity present in the TARGET2 system. The platform's development was entrusted to the central banks of France, Germany, Italy and Spain (4CBs), while also in this case it is jointly operated by Banca d'Italia and Deutsche Bundesbank. On 17 September 2018, the last migration wave to T2S was successfully completed, bringing to 20 the number of financial marketplaces operating in T2S. The completion of the migration process is a milestone on the path towards the greater integration and efficiency of the European financial market, in line with plans to build the Capital Markets Union, promoted by the European Commission.
Market supervision
The Bank of Italy performs supervisory functions with respect to the financial markets to ensure the stability of the market systems, the transparency and quality of the services provided, and their reliability and efficiency.
The smooth functioning of the infrastructures of the financial markets influences both the effectiveness of the transmission of monetary policy impulses and financial stability. One of the principles established by the Italian legal system is the separation between the function of operating market infrastructures, entrusted to limited companies, and that of supervision, entrusted to the authorities.
Within this framework, the Bank has powers, shared to a varying degree with Consob, for the supervision of the markets that are important for monetary policy (the wholesale market for government securities and bonds, the market for derivatives based on public securities, interest rates and foreign currencies) and of the functions and services needed to complete transactions originated on all the markets: clearing, guarantee, settlement and CSD services (the post-trading infrastructures). On the other hand the Bank has exclusive power for the organized trading of interbank funds, which is also important for monetary policy.
The companies subject to the Bank's supervision are:
- MTS spa: wholesale government securities markets (MTS and BondVision),
- e-MID spa: organized trading of interbank deposits,
- Monte Titoli spa: central securities depository and Express II settlement services, and
- Cassa di compensazione e garanzia spa: central counterparty on the spot and derivative equity markets and on MTS, where it operates together with the French company LCH.Clearnet.
The objectives pursued in the Bank's supervisory action are: smooth and orderly trading, the efficiency and reliability of market systems, and limiting systemic risk.
Payment system oversight
Efficient and reliable payment systems foster the effectiveness of monetary policy and the stability of the financial system, as well as ensuring maintenance of the public's confidence in the currency, the mechanisms for its transfer and the use of payment instruments.
Payment system oversight is a function that has long been performed by central banks, but its recognition in law is relatively recent. In Europe, under Article 105(2) of the EC Treaty and Article 3 of the Statute of the European System of Central Banks and of the European Central Bank one of the key tasks of the ESCB is 'to promote the smooth operation of payment systems'.
In the Eurosystem the Governing Council of the ECB has the task of defining the oversight policy while, in conformity with these guidelines, the individual NCBs are required to control their respective systems with a degree of autonomy that increases with the prevalence of the national interest.
In the Italian legal system Article 146 of the Consolidated Law on Banking grants the Bank an exclusive role in promoting the smooth operation of the payment system and the power to issue regulations to ensure efficient and sound clearing and payment systems.
In implementing the latter provision, the Bank issues provisions aimed at making its oversight activity transparent by clarifying its objectives, scope and instruments; within the Eurosystem it contributes analyses and proposals concerning oversight and participates in the committees in which payment system policies are discussed.
The Bank's oversight activity covers (public and private) payment systems, infrastructures and payment instruments and moves in three main directions: 1) completion of monetary integration; 2) maintenance of financial stability; and 3) promotion of technological innovation.
Treasury functions
The Bank of Italy acts as treasurer for the State. It handles the receipts and disbursements of government departments, at both provincial and central level. It also performs payment and collection services on behalf of governmental bodies.
The Bank performs payment services and accounting for the Treasury, at both provincial and central level: it carries out the payment orders issued by government departments and collects the amounts due to the State under any title, both directly and indirectly via the banks, the Post Office and tax collection offices; it receives and holds deposits in the form of postal savings certificates and cash. The Bank's treasury functions include the settlement of payments concerning the public debt and the financial reporting to the government bodies and the State Audit Office.
The integration of the government receipts and disbursements circuit with the interbank settlement circuit underlies the 'telematic treasury services', based on the 'Computerized System of Government Payments' (SIPA), which, through the dematerialization of accounting documents required by the government accounts and the use of the banking and PO circuits for the execution of payments, makes it possible to optimize the control on the financial and information flows in connection with public payments.
The Bank also runs the General Government Transactions Information System (SIOPE), which is intended to make detailed and homogeneous information available to the Ministry for the Economy and Finance on the receipts and disbursements of general government bodies. It will be possible to use the archive to obtain the general government borrowing requirement and improve the management of the accounts, with a view to constantly checking compliance with the budgetary rules established at European level.
Note issue
The Bank of Italy issues euro banknotes in accordance with the principles and rules laid down by the Eurosystem and is responsible for controlling all the currency in circulation in Italy.
The Bank issues euro banknotes, which have been in circulation since 1 January 2001. As part of the Eurosystem and within the framework of the principles that govern the note issue, it produces the quantity of euro banknotes assigned to it, puts them into circulation and withdraws worn notes. It also takes part in the search for and experimentation of new security features and contributes to the definition of common standards for the quality of the notes in circulation and the fight against forgery.
The euro banknotes printed by the Bank of Italy are based on a plan for the distribution of production whereby each Eurosystem printing works is assigned two or three denominations.
In the fight against banknote forgery the Bank¡¦s cooperation with the other Eurosystem central banks has led to the creation of a computerized system for the collection and monitoring of data on forgeries ƒ{ the Counterfeit Monitoring System (CMS) ƒ{ and organizational arrangements linking different institutions. Independently, the Bank has contributed, together with the Central Antifraud Office for Means of Payment and law enforcement authorities, to training on the recognition of counterfeit notes for Italian and foreign police forces and persons charged with handling large volumes of cash.
Economics, research and international relations
Underpinning the effective performance of its functions, the Bank undertakes a large amount of economic, financial and legal analysis and research. It provides advice to Parliament and the Government on economic and financial policy matters and contributes to the study of the various subjects. In its relations with abroad, it participates in the activity of the main international monetary and financial organizations.
The analysis and research the Bank undertakes, especially in the economic and statistical fields, contributes to the formulation of the monetary policy of the euro area, to the performance of its other functions, and to the drawing up and assessment of proposals for the various aspects of economic policy.
Of special importance for the formulation of monetary policy is the work aimed at preparing a series of methodological tools for carrying out cyclical analysis and forecasting the main macroeconomic and financial aggregates.
Research in economics and statistics at Banca d'Italia is mainly conducted in the Directorate General for Economics, Statistics and Research. Analysis of economic and financial developments in local markets is carried out by the territorial economic research units established in the branches located in every regional capitals.
Most of the research carried out is disseminated in the Bank's own publications, specialized reviews and volumes published by Italian and foreign publishers. The "External publications" in "Economics and international relations" section contains a list of the works produced since 1990 and published in reviews and books.
Within the framework of international cooperation, the Bank takes part in the activity on monetary and financial issues at European level and, together with the other central banks, in the main multilateral groups and organizations.
Supervision
In its capacity as regulatory authority, the Bank performs the functions aimed at maintaining financial stability, acting on the basis of the powers and responsibilities it is assigned by Italian law with regard to the control of individual intermediaries and the financial system as a whole.
In conformity with Community law, the Bank exercises its supervisory powers over banks, banking groups and financial intermediaries to ensure the sound and prudent management of the persons subject to supervision, the overall stability, efficiency and competitiveness of the financial system, and compliance with banking and financial rules and regulations.
The Bank has authority to issue secondary legislation, carries out controls on intermediaries, acts to protect the transparency of the contractual conditions for banking and financial operations, and fosters conduct on the part of intermediaries marked not only by compliance with the letter of the law but also by a substantive improvement in relations with customers.
The powers of control are exercised while respecting the entrepreneurial nature of the persons subject to supervision, who are free to choose their strategies, organizational models and investment policies within a general framework of prudential rules.
The main parameter for the prudential regulation of intermediaries stability is their capital: the availability of adequate own funds in relation to the risks assumed increases firms ability to cope with unexpected losses. The quality of firms organizational arrangements is also of great importance.
Supervision of the banks and other financial intermediaries is based on analyses and interventions serving to ensure the prompt identification of signs of potential problems in technical and organizational setups and to foster their removal through appropriate corrective measures.
Supervisory action consists on the one hand of documentary controls based on the systematic collection, processing and analysis of a mass of statistical, accounting and administrative data and on the other of on-site examinations, aimed at checking the quality and accuracy of the data transmitted and studying organizational and operational aspects in more detail. Ad hoc measures are adopted when serious problems are found in intermediaries financial situations.
The Bank plays an active role in the international committees engaged in cooperation and in the technical fora that contribute to the preparation of Community law and the convergence of supervisory practices; it also participates in the formulation of best practices and common prudential rules capable of ensuring equal treatment for intermediaries operating internationally and preventing regulatory arbitrage.
The Bank is also committed to preventing financial crime, money-laundering and usury. In order to safeguard the integrity of the financial system, it issues instructions to intermediaries and, where necessary, imposes sanctions.
It collaborates with the judicial authorities and other investigative bodies in the fight against economic crime.
Consumer protection and financial education
The Bank of Italy promotes conditions in which relationships between banks or financial institutions and customers are based on principles of transparency and fairness and, with reference to the provision of payment services, respect for the rights and obligations of the parties.
It carries out supervisory functions regarding the transparency and correctness of financial intermediaries in their relations with customers. It exercises these powers by encouraging institutions not only to formally comply with their legal obligations but also to substantially improve customer relations. It promotes respect for the rights and obligations of the parties in the provision of payment services.
The Bank has secondary regulatory powers in the areas provided for by law and carries out controls on banks and financial institutions through analyses and interventions aimed at promptly identifying any signs of potential anomalies in customer relationships and requesting their removal through appropriate corrective measures, including the return of undue charges to customers. In addition, the Bank of Italy can apply sanctions or injunction orders where necessary.
As for individual customer protection in the area of banking and financial operations and services, the Bank of Italy, also in its role as the national competent authority, supports the work of the Banking and Financial Ombudsman (ABF), which is an autonomous and independent alternative dispute resolution system for customers and banks, and it manages complaints and liaises with consumers' associations.
Besides controls and customer protection, the Bank of Italy is committed to increasing the level of financial literacy of Italian citizens through the promotion of financial education initiatives. This is because citizens with a greater knowledge of financial matters can more clearly understand the risks and opportunities of the products on offer and make more informed choices on loans, saving and complementary pension schemes, thus contributing to the formation of a more inclusive, efficient and stable market.
Crisis Management
Banks and financial intermediaries, like other companies, can find themselves in crisis, particularly when they are not prudently managed.
Unlike other companies, however, the failure of an intermediary can trigger problems for persons and entities that are not in crisis themselves, threatening the overall stability of the system and negatively impacting the economy. For this reason the corrective actions that governing bodies can take are complemented by the powers of the public authorities responsible for supervisory and resolution activities. The authorities can intervene, following procedures commensurate with the severity of the crisis, to limit the burden on those persons and entities affected by the financial difficulties, to preserve the continuity of essential banking and financial services, to prevent contagion and to preserve depositors' and savers' confidence.
In addition to establishing regulations and exercising control and sanctioning powers, supervisory authorities are equipped with the tools to intervene at an early stage to manage problematic situations, with the objective of reducing the likelihood of a crisis and its impact on the essential functions performed by banks and on the stability of the system overall. Reforms currently under way at the international and EU levels seek to reduce this likelihood to a minimum, but they cannot fully eliminate it.
When the failure of a bank is unavoidable and its ability to continue its activity is compromised, it is necessary to help the bank make an orderly exit from the market; this phase is monitored by the resolution authority.
At the EU level, there have been changes to the rules governing the resolution authority's role and procedures in order to introduce a new harmonized procedure for banks and for some Italian investment firms - resolution - to be applied by the euro-area member states, so as to overcome the problems caused by the fragmentation of national procedures.
The regulatory framework is also designed to ensure that the cost of restructuring banks in crisis falls on shareholders and on bondholders rather than on taxpayers. As a result, the regulations on bail-ins include reducing the value of shares and certain types of credit or converting the latter into shares to absorb the losses and recapitalize the bank.
On 21 September 2015 the Bank of Italy was designated as Italy's National Resolution Authority. To carry out its new role, the Bank established the Resolution and Crisis Management Unit, which reports directly to the Governing Board. In keeping with regulatory provisions, this organisational solution was adopted to ensure operational independence and to avoid conflicts between the resolution and supervisory functions. The Resolution and Crisis Management Unit and the Directorate General for Financial Supervision and Regulation work closely together to manage early intervention measures and the various phases of the resolution process.
The implementation of monetary policy and Emergency Liquidity Assistance
Foreign exchange operations
Foreign currency and gold reserves, investment portfolio and risk management
Government bonds auctions and Treasury's money market operations
Treasury services
Euro issuance
Economic research and international relations
Banking and financial supervision
The Eurosystem
Resolution and crisis management