Loretta Frettoni

Loretta Frettoni

Head of the Payment Systems Directorate

Loretta Frettoni was born in Rome and has four children.

She has been Head of the Payment Systems Directorate since 1 March 2026. She is a member of the Market Infrastructure and Payments Committee of the European Central Bank as well as an alternate member of the Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures of the Bank for International Settlements.

She graduated with honours in Law from 'La Sapienza' University of Rome in 1985. In 1989, she joined Banca d'Italia and was assigned to the Rome Branch, first to the Financial Intermediaries Office and later to the Banking Supervision Division, where she carried out, among other tasks, on‑site inspections of banks under local supervision, serving as team leader.

In 1999, following the 'privatization' of the markets, she joined the newly established Markets Oversight Office where, from 2002 to 2008, she was Head of the Regulatory Area. She took part in the implementation of ongoing regulatory reform processes and coordinated the activities relating to the development of the supervisory regulatory framework for money and financial markets and for post‑trading infrastructures.

From 2008 she served as Deputy Head and then, from 2014 to 2022, as Head of the Post‑Trading Division within the Market and Payment Systems Oversight Directorate, where she coordinated the oversight of central counterparties and central securities depositories. In this capacity, she took part in EU-level negotiations, contributed to the definition of international standards, and worked on amendments to the Consolidated Law on Finance (TUF) and on the drafting of secondary legislation.

In 2023-2024, she was part of the senior staff of the Resolution and Crisis Management Unit, where she coordinated the activities connected with the start of Banca d'Italia's new role as the national resolution authority for central counterparties.

From December 2024 to February 2026, she was Deputy Head of the Payment Systems Directorate.

Throughout her career, she has represented the Bank on numerous committees and working groups at the ECB, ESMA, BIS and FSB.

She is the author of contributions on financial markets and has taught courses and seminars for Banca d'Italia staff as well as at external institutions and universities. She has been a member of committees for internal staff promotion procedures and selection committees for the recruitment of graduates.