Regulatory references

The gold held by Banca d'Italia is an integral part of the official reserves, the management of which is one of the fundamental tasks carried out by the Eurosystem under the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and the Statute of the European System of Central Banks (ESCB) and the ECB.

Central banks are fully independent in managing their official reserves, within the guidelines adopted by the ECB to safeguard the single monetary policy. Gold is expressly included in the definition of 'foreign reserve assets' in EU legislation that, in implementing Article 30 of the ESCB Statute, regulates the transfer of such assets from NCBs to the ECB.

The provisions contained in Legislative Decree 43/1998 on the Bank's participation in the ESCB establish in Article 7, paragraph 2, that: 'Banca d'Italia shall manage the official reserves in compliance with Article 31 of the Statute of the European System of Central Banks and the European Central Bank'. This article replaced the previous Article 4, paragraph 2, of the consolidated law on foreign exchange regulations, approved by Presidential Decree 148/1988, which stated that the official reserves were managed by the Italian Exchange Office, and by Banca d'Italia for foreign exchange market interventions, for needs relating to international commitments and for ordinary operations.

The amendment was necessary because, following the introduction of the single currency, official reserves can only be held and managed by Eurosystem central banks. Finally, it should be noted that in the same Presidential Decree 148/1988, Article 15, paragraph 2 already provided for Banca d'Italia's authority to trade gold abroad freely, within the scope of reserve management and subject to the applicable limits.

Law No. 199 of 30 December 2025, Article 1(2), provides that, in accordance with the Treaty provisions on the tasks of the Eurosystem, the independence of central banks and the prohibition of monetary financing, the gold reserves managed and held by the Banca d'Italia, as recorded on its balance sheet, belong to the Italian people.