Directorate General for Markets and Payment Systems

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Director General: Luigi Cannari

Deputy Director General: Franco Panfili

Deputy Director General: Stefano Siviero

Number of employees: 555

Contacts

Market Operations Directorate

Within the ESCB and in collaboration with the ECB, the Market Operations Directorate manages liquidity in the euro area through monetary policy operations and intervenes in the foreign exchange market.

It analyses systemic risks and carries out the preparatory work for extraordinary refinancing operations conducted to manage financial crises.

It monitors the performance of the money, financial, foreign exchange, gold and liquidity markets. It handles the valuation and management of collateral received from counterparties in monetary policy and extraordinary operations.

It carries out investment operations involving the Bank's assets in euros and foreign currencies, and its gold reserves.

It manages the ECB's foreign and gold reserves, acting as the latter's agent and representative. It provides investment services to foreign central banks and institutional clients.

It handles the Bank's supplementary pension fund investments.

It oversees public sector lending, liaising with the Ministry of Economy and Finance.

It manages and is responsible for the processes classified as critical for the Bank's business continuity.

Number of employees: 92

Head:

Operations and Payment Settlement Directorate

The Operations and Payment Settlement Directorate carries out validation, settlement, and accounting activities relevant to the institutional functions of the Directorate General, to the management of the Bank's supplementary pension fund and of the portfolios of the Bank of Italy, of foreign central banks, and of institutional clients, and to the cash receipts and payments operations related to payment and correspondent services.

It manages the information platforms supporting the Bank's activity on financial markets.

It manages and is responsible for the processes classified as critical for business continuity.

Number of employees: 99

Head:

Financial Risk Management Directorate

The Financial Risk Management Directorate is responsible for analysing and assessing the financial and operational risks associated with monetary policy and financial stability operations, and with the Bank's investment of its own funds, foreign exchange reserves, supplementary pension fund, and other euro and foreign currency portfolios. It checks compliance with asset management limits. It reports on its assessment and control activities directly to the Governing Board.

It monitors the activities involved in the strategic allocation and tactical management of the Bank's portfolios and supplementary pension fund. It provides financial risk management and control services to institutional clients.

It oversees the management of the Bank's strategic equity holdings, including their risk profile.

It is responsible for assessing and controlling the financial risks of the monetary policy operations entrusted to national central banks under Eurosystem regulations. It develops and manages credit risk assessment systems for loans used as collateral in monetary policy and financial stability operations.

Number of employees: 62

Head:

MARKET AND PAYMENT SYSTEMS OVERSIGHT DIRECTORATE

The Directorate performs the functions assigned to the Bank in the field of the regulation and supervision of money and financial markets, central securities depositories, central counterparty systems and companies, and systems for the clearing, settlement and guarantee of transactions involving financial instruments.

It defines the relevant policies.

It analyses the performance and development of the financial markets, the payment systems and the related support units; it collects, processes and disseminates the related statistical information.

It oversees the payments system and the payment infrastructures as part of the functions assigned to the Bank by Italian law and those deriving from its participation in the ESCB.

In coordination with the other departments of the Bank involved, it carries out the tasks of analysing and promoting technological innovation for the payment system and related infrastructures, the money and financial markets, and the post-trading infrastructures.

As the competent authority, the Bank performs the duties assigned to it in the relevant areas and It liaises with the other competent authorities in national, European and international fora to draw up and implement the guidelines and develop the relevant methodologies and tools.

It performs tasks connected with business continuity and cyber resilience in the financial sector and collaborates (in conjunction with the other departments involved), in financial market, national, Eurosystem and international initiatives. Working with the Bank's other units and the competent authorities, it monitors the relevant regulatory profiles and the implementation of test activities.

It defines the supervisory interventions on supervised subjects, in agreement with the Inspectorate Directorate.

It manages and is responsible for certain processes classified as critical for the Bank's business continuity.

Number of employees: 58

Head:

Payment Systems Directorate

The Payment Systems Directorate helps define the strategic guidelines for the evolution of the payment system in Italy, in accordance with the European and international frameworks. In this context, it formulates policies for the provision of payment and settlement services, and collateral management by the Bank of Italy.

On behalf of the Eurosystem and together with the other provider central banks, it manages the integrated operational platform for the Target2 and Target2 Securities single shared platform and contributes to the management and development of European payment and settlement systems.

It plays an active role in the operational management and analysis relating to the participation of the Bank and of the Italian financial market in the European payment systems. It plays a similar role in the development of the national clearing system managed by the Bank, liaising with the participating operators.

It manages and is responsible for the processes classified as critical for the Bank's business continuity.

Number of employees: 127

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Treasury Services Directorate

The Treasury Services Directorate manages the functions of the State Treasury and liaises with the Ministry of Economy and Finance and other departments of central government.

The directorate provides a periodic statement of payments and receipts to the State Audit Office and other government departments.

It manages the State Treasury's digital services, the general government transactions information system (Sistema Informativo delle Operazioni degli Enti Pubblici - SIOPE)  and the SIOPE+ platform, and monitors government payments.

It manages the Treasury Account and provides the ECB and the Treasury with the forecasts of government borrowing requirements and of the public balance.

It manages cash services for public authorities and manages the Treasury accounts of nearly all general government bodies.

It processes court orders preventing debtors, whether they be public or private entities, from accessing assets held at the Bank.

It manages processes classified as critical for continuity of the Bank's operations.

Number of employees: 114

Head: