Italy
Obituary: Carlo Azeglio Ciampi
Former Bank of Italy governor dies aged 95. The former partisan also held the roles of finance minister, prime minister and president
Wage Phillips curves in eurozone steepened after 2008 – paper
Germany was the exception among major eurozone economies, Bank of Italy paper argues
Recessions nearly tripled amount of Italian NPLs, paper argues
Italian bad debt levels would be almost one third of their current levels without the sub-prime and sovereign debt crises, a counterfactual analysis argues
Major economies show clear credit price cycles, researchers say
Housing markets are a key influence on credit prices cycles in the US and major European economies, an ECB paper argues
IMF working paper encourages Italian banks to clean up balance sheets
Italian banks are likely to become more profitable as economy recovers, authors say, though their capacity to lend is linked to capital buffers
Bank of Italy to receive €1bn for liquidating holding in equity firm
Italy’s central bank will gain about €1bn for liquidating its shareholding in an equity firm partly owned by the Italian state; holding began after the firm transferred stake in insurer
ECB bulletin says institutional reform important for increasing resilience
Governing institutions in eurozone countries need reform, the ECB says; Finland’s institutions are among very best in OECD but those of Greece and Italy are close to worst
Italian banks feel more pressure from EBA stress-test results
Publication of the 2016 stress tests on European banks focuses attention on Italian banks in particular, but private sector recapitalisation plan takes some pressure off MPS
All eyes on Italy as EBA prepares to release stress test results
Portuguese, Austrian and German banks may also be the possible subjects of market attention after tonight's publication
Bank of Italy paper aims to improve on EC current account model
Research offers a new model of external adjustment; the EC’s model tends to mis-state cyclically adjusted current account balances of large eurozone economies, researchers argue
Ratings agency fined €1.38 million by Esma for regulatory breaches
The European Securities and Markets Authority fines Fitch for improper discussions of information and mishandling timing of Slovenia’s sovereign downgrade
Italian paper looks at effects of Basel leverage ratio on repo and refinancing
A move to higher leverage ratios by eurozone banks has not decreased their repo and refinancing activities, a Bank of Italy paper says
Draghi raises possibility of ‘public backstop’ for NPLs
Eurozone recovery is continuing with credit conditions and volumes increasing because of quantitative easing, Draghi says; backstop would be “very useful”, but require Commission support
Bank of Italy sees Brexit having little impact on country
Commercial and financial links between Britain and Italy are much more limited than other European countries, argues the Bank of Italy in its latest economic bulletin
IMF staff propose additional reforms to Italian banking sector
Directors at the fund “commend” the Italian authorities for reforms so far, while staff suggest a range of additional measures to tackle issues around resolution and NPLs
European banks suffer as regulators ban Monte dei Paschi short-selling
Banks hit by further shockwaves from UK’s vote to leave EU, while European authorities scramble to shore up crumbling Italian bank Monte dei Paschi di Siena
Italian banking system sees first major test of European bail-in regime
Leaked letter from ECB triggers sell-off in major Italian commercial bank; European and Italian authorities still fail to reach agreement on resolving NPL problems
Research explores impact of Italian product market reforms on productivity
Authors find positive association between firm performance and deregulation of sector; correlation stronger in areas with 'more efficient’ public services
Shocks to bank finance hit exports, Bank of Italy paper argues
Exporters and non-exporters react differently to bank credit shocks, a Bank of Italy working paper argues; researchers present ‘unique firm-bank matched database’ for Italian businesses
Bank of Italy puts archive of annual reports online
Central bank includes all annual reports dating back to 1895, giving insights into many periods of instability over the last century
Bank of Italy creates secondary market for trading in its own shares
Italy’s central bank has created a secondary market for dealings in its own shares as part of a plan to limit individual firms’ holdings to 3% of total shares
Germany needs structural surplus, Weidmann says
Bundesbank president counters arguments Germans are saving too much; says treatment of eurozone sovereigns must change, at odds with Bank of Italy governor
ECB to conduct comprehensive assessment of four more banks
European Central Bank is assessing four banks it may come to directly supervise; supervision fees charged to European banks set to rise over 45% in 2016
Italian governor criticises bank resolution rules
Bank of Italy governor Visco says BRRD and European Commission policy may increase risk of financial instability