Turnover - April 2025

In April 2025, Banca d’Italia conducted its triennial survey of the foreign exchange and over the counter (OTC) currency and interest rate derivatives markets. This year’s survey includes two datasets: one on the volume of transactions (turnover) carried out by the main resident banks and the other on the settlement of derivatives by banking groups. The survey, coordinated by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), involved 52 central banks and monetary authorities in their respective jurisdictions. The overall results of this survey are published on the BIS website (https://www.bis.org/stats_triennial_surveys/index.htm).

Today, Banca d’Italia releases the national results – expressed in US dollars – on the turnover dataset for Italy.

The part of the survey focusing on Italy’s turnover was conducted on a sample of 18 banks. According to the information contained in the supervisory reports submitted to Banca d’Italia, these banks account for about 82.6 per cent of the value of the transactions made in the OTC foreign exchange and derivatives markets; this share is lower than that reported in the previous survey conducted in 2022, which was 97.5 per cent. The survey looks at the value – in terms of nominal and notional amounts and expressed in US dollar equivalents – of the new contracts signed in April 2025. The survey results are grossed up to the entire Italian market. Based on the common methodology defined by the BIS, the published data are aggregations of the reports submitted by banks, without any adjustments made – for example, to take account of exchange rate variations between the two periods or of inflation. The number of working days shown in the following tables (equal to 19 and 20, in April 2022 and April 2025 respectively) is not adjusted either. The sample for the settlement part of the survey includes four banking groups: overall, the estimated sample coverage is 93.7 per cent.

In April 2025, the turnover in foreign exchange and OTC currency derivatives amounted to around $480 billion in Italy (Table 1), up from the figure recorded in the previous survey carried out in April 2022 ($380 billion). The trading volume of interest rate derivatives increased from $417 billion in April 2022 to $513 billion in April 2025. In the foreign exchange and currency derivatives market, the dollar remains the reference currency, with transactions amounting to $385 billion.

In Italy, foreign exchange swaps remain the most widely used instrument on the foreign exchange and currency derivatives market ($289 billion; Table 2). Forward rate agreements, totaling $173 billion, are still the most used interest rate derivatives. Overnight indexed swaps have increased significantly over the same period, reaching $166 billion dollars (up from $109 billion in April 2022; Table 3).

The results by counterparty show that most of the transactions are carried out with non-resident banks (accounting for a turnover of $315 billion in the foreign exchange and currency derivatives market and $202 billion in the interest rate derivatives market; Table 4). Furthermore, trading with other financial institutions rose from $106 billion in April 2022 to $397 billion in April 2025.

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