Trust companies

Business scope

Trust companies established under Italian Law 1966/1939 act as trustees for the safekeeping and administration of assets entrusted to them by trustors based on a fiduciary mandate. Where they operate in their own name and on behalf of their customers, the trustors will retain full ownership of the assets, while the trustees will act as their representatives.

Trust companies are required to obtain a licence from the Ministry for Economic Development, pursuant to the Ministerial Decree of 16 January 1995.

Requirements

Trust companies that are controlled directly or indirectly by a bank or a financial intermediary, or that were incorporated in the form of a joint-stock company with a paid-up capital of no less than twice as much the amount required for joint-stock companies (i.e. €100,000), are required to apply for licensing from the Bank of Italy and register in the separate section of the register established pursuant to Article 106 of the Italian Consolidated Law on Banking (TUB).

Applicants must meet the following requirements:

1. legal form of a limited company (società di capitali), for trust companies controlled by a bank or a financial intermediary, or a joint-stock company (società per azioni), for other trust companies;
2. registered office and headquarters in Italy;
3. paid-up capital of no less than twice the amount required by Article 2327 of the Italian Civil Code for trustees that are not controlled by a bank or a financial intermediary;
4. licence from the Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy in compliance with the Ministerial Decree of 16 January 1995;
5. regulatory requirements for the qualified shareholders;
6. statutory fit and proper requirements for members of the management body;
7. no close links between a trust company, or any entities within its group, and other entities that could stand in the way of effective supervision;
8. business scope limited to licensed operations under Law 1966/1939 and the Ministerial Decree of 16 January 1995.

In addition, applicants are required to submit specific documents in compliance with Bank of Italy Circular 288/2015, including, among others, their memorandum and articles of association, a business plan and reports on their operations and organizational structure.

The Bank of Italy shall reject applications where, based on the requirements assessment, the applicant cannot ensure effective risk management in terms of anti-money laundering and terrorist financing pursuant to Legislative Decree 231/2007.

Post-licensing requirements

Upon licensing, the Bank of Italy shall enter the company in the separate section of the register established under Article 106 of the TUB, and notify them of their identification number.

When issuing a licence, the Bank of Italy may provide instructions to the trust company in order to ensure effective governance, sound administration and robust risk monitoring in terms of anti-money laundering and terrorist financing, as well as compliance with supervisory requirements.

Registered trust companies will be supervised by the Bank of Italy in compliance with the anti-money laundering provisions laid down in Legislative Decree 231/2007. Intermediaries are supervised by the Bank of Italy in accordance with the organizational criteria published on our website.

Registered trust companies shall notify the Bank of Italy of any changes to the information contained in the register, within 10 days of filing for registration of those changes in the business register.

The provisions laid down in the Ministerial Decree  of 16 January 1995, in terms of licensing and supervision of trust companies by the Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy, shall stand.