Italy
Visco wary of changing regulation on sovereign exposures
Italian governor acknowledges sovereign exposures are not risk-free, but questions logic to changing prudential rules
EBA publishes first complete list of European O-SIIs
European Banking Authority publishes first full list of other systemically important institutions in Europe; some national supervisors make more use of discretion than others
Draghi warns criticism of monetary policy may delay recovery
Mario Draghi says some politicians' criticisms of ECB policy might delay eurozone recovery; says easing policies are working but need time to bring about recovery
Italian deputy governor calls for fiscal expansion in eurozone
Some eurozone countries should follow fiscally expansionary policies, Bank of Italy deputy governor argues; policy so far has been “less expansionary” than other major economies
Visco warns of danger of revising wages down if inflation undershoots predictions
Some Italian contracts will be downwardly revising elements of pay if inflation undershoots expectations, Ignazio Visco says; general adoption of this rule could harm the ECB’s policy
Lower real interest rates may harm productivity growth, researchers say
Lower real interest rates may reduce productivity growth rates, researchers say; Italy and Spain have suffered low or negative TFP growth during existence of euro
Tax system severely reduces Italian banks’ profits – paper
Disparities in eurozone countries’ effective tax rates for their banking sectors may threaten banks’ ability to strengthen their capital, a Bank of Italy paper argues
Italian firms' leverage well above average, study finds
Italian non-financial companies’ leverage ratios are significantly above the eurozone average, a working paper shows
Four largest eurozone economies show different reactions to monetary policy, paper finds
The economies of Germany, France, Italy and Spain show marked differences in responding to policy rate rises, researchers argue
Paper looks at macro-prudential impact on mortgage affordability
Working paper assesses how macro-prudential policies influence the share of households that can “access and sustain” a mortgage at different loan-to-value ratios
Small and medium eurozone banks must assess business models, Lautenschläger says
Smaller financial institutions need to examine their business models in detail, eurozone regulator says; SSM wants harmonised treatment of institutional protection schemes
ECB’s liquidity provision had ‘highly uneven effects’ on interbank markets, paper argues
ECB emergency liquidity provision had very different effects on stressed and non-stressed interbank lending markets; paper reconstructs interbank lending from Target2 database
Italian banking episode shows supervision working well, Nouy says
Handling of problems with Italian banks shows regulators have the right systems in place, Danièle Nouy says; there might be skeletons, but they are ‘not in the cupboard’
Chance to ‘review’ BRRD must be seized, says Visco
Italian governor criticises the application of the Bank Resolution and Recovery Directive (BRRD); the transition was too hasty and reform may be needed, he argues
Market fears endanger Italian and Portuguese bank sell-offs
Recent measures by the Bank of Portugal, as well as market fears about the quality of Italian banks’ assets, may discourage investors from buying Italian and Portuguese bridge banks
Bank of Italy outlines downside risks as inflation falls
Annual HICP inflation fell to 0.1% according to December estimate, just below eurozone average; Bank of Italy warns that international situation poses ‘significant risks’ to European recovery
Draghi calls for action on non-performing loans
Eurozone countries need wide-ranging reform of their systems for dealing with non-performing loans to stimulate the supply of capital to business, Mario Draghi says
Italian deputy governor warns on hurdles to capital markets union
The senior deputy governor of the Bank of Italy says capital markets union is necessary for the European economy but faces considerable obstacles
Advice can affect clients' mortgage choices, says BIS paper
Banks may ‘steer’ households towards certain mortgage types; distorted information has a stronger affect when prices are not adjusted
Historical data supports fiscal theory of the price level, Bundesbank paper argues
Data from the US, Germany and Italy give policy-makers useful data on the long-term influence of fiscal policy on inflation, a Bundesbank discussion paper argues
Main threat to stability from low growth, says Italian deputy
Fabio Panetta says there is ‘broad agreement’ the main danger to financial stability in the eurozone stems from low growth; credit growth ‘remains subdued’
Visco questions sufficiency of five presidents’ report
Italian governor stresses progress ‘on the side of the political union’ should be considered sooner rather than later; broadly supports direction of roadmap
Italian NPL legislation should shorten bankruptcy proceedings, paper says
Legislation recently passed by the Italian parliament should shorten bankruptcy proceedings and may stimulate a private market for Italy’s non-performing loans, a Bank of Italy paper argues
Italian paper explores wage and unemployment relationship
Occasional paper stresses the choice of measures for the change in wage rates has ‘important consequences for the results’