Opinion of the European Central Bank of 23 December 2005 at the request of the Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance on an amendment to the draft law on the protection of savings concerning the Banca d’Italia (CON/2005/58)
Date: 2005-12-23
Institutions: European Central Bank
Subjects: Italy, appointment of staff, central bank, institutional activity, national law

EN 

OPINION OF THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK 

of 23 December 2005 

at the request of the Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance  

on an amendment to the draft law on the protection of savings concerning the Banca d’Italia 

(CON/2005/58) 

1. 

On  21  December  2005  the  European  Central  Bank  (ECB)  received  a  request  from  the  Italian 

Ministry of Economy and Finance for an opinion on a draft article that will be inserted in the draft 

law on the protection of savings (hereinafter the ‘draft article’).  

2. 

The ECB’s competence to deliver an opinion is based on the third indent of Article 2(1) of Council 

Decision 98/415/EC of 29 June 1998 on the consultation of the European Central Bank by national 
authorities regarding draft legislative provisions1, as the draft article contains provisions concerning 

a national central bank (NCB). In accordance with the first sentence of Article 17.5 of the Rules of 

Procedure of the European Central Bank, the Governing Council has adopted this opinion. 

3. 

The  ECB  notes  that  it  has  been  already  consulted  twice  on  previous  drafts  of  this  provision  and 

welcomes the Italian Government’s decision to consult the ECB again on this new draft article. The 

ECB notes with pleasure that the Italian Government has endorsed most of the comments made in 

such  previous  opinions.  More  specifically,  the  ECB  particularly  welcomes  the  fact  that  specific 

amendments have been introduced to the draft article to introduce the principle of collegiality for 

the  Directorate’s  decision-making  on  measures  related  to  non-ESCB  tasks  and  a  mandate  of  six 

years for its members, renewable once, similar to that one introduced for the Governor.  

4. 

The ECB notes that the draft article will modify the current procedure for both the appointment and 

the revocation of the Governor in the cases indicated by Article 14.2 of the Statute of the European 

System of Central Banks and of the European Central Bank: he/she will be appointed with a decree 

of the President of the Republic, upon proposal of the President of the Council of Ministers, after 

deliberation of the Council of Ministers, having heard the opinion of the Banca d’Italia’s Board of 

Directors. The draft article complies with the Treaty. The ECB also notes that paragraph 7 of the 

draft article envisages that the Banca d’Italia’s statute will provide for staggered appointment of the 

members of the Directorate to ensure a degree of continuity in its functioning and welcomes it. The 

ECB stands ready to provide an assessment of such aspects in a future opinion on the amendments 

to be introduced into the Statute of Banca d’Italia. 

1 

OJ L 189, 3.7.1998, p. 42. 

 
 
  
 
                                                      
5. 

According to the draft article a Government regulation will specify the procedure for the transfer of 

Banca d’Italia’s shares owned by entities other than the State and other public bodies within three 

years from entry into force of the law. The ECB recalls the comments made in its earlier opinion as 

regards the need for ensuring the compatibility of both the financing of the planned transfer of the 

Banca  d’Italia’s  shares  to  the  State  with  the  principles  established  by  the  Treaty  as  regards 

monetary  financing  and  fiscal  policies2.  The  ECB  stands  ready  to  provide  an  assessment  of  such 

aspects in a future opinion on the above-mentioned draft Government regulation. 

6. 

Furthermore,  the  ECB  recalls  its  earlier  comments  as  regards  the  need  for  preserving  the  Banca 

d’Italia’s financial independence upon transfer of the shares and to review the role of the Board of 

Director. The ECB takes note that the draft article envisages a modification of the Banca d'Italia’s 

Statute  to  redefine  the  functions  of  such  body  and  stands  ready  to  provide  an  assessment  of  the 

overall internal governance in a future opinion. 

7. 

Finally, the ECB notes that the draft article provides for the abrogation of the current provisions of 

Law No. 287 of 10 October 1990 concerning the exercise of the antitrust functions as regards the 

banking system and the transfer of the powers from the Banca d'Italia to the “Autorità garante della 

concorrenza  e  del  mercato”  (AGCM).  More  specifically,  the  draft  article  provides  that  when 

acquisitions of significant holdings in banks and banking mergers occur, the authorizations of both 

Banca d’Italia and AGCM – pertaining, respectively, to sound and prudent management issues and 

to the competitive effects – are necessary and will be adopted in one single measure. Co-ordination 

between the two authorities is also required.  

8. 

The ECB highlights that, as already commented on an earlier version of the draft article3, while co-

ordination  between  authorities  is  highly  needed  to  avoid  an  overly  complex  framework  for 

supervised entities, it is appropriate to maintain a clear distinction between procedures leading to 

antitrust  and  banking  supervision  decisions.  However,  cases  might  occur  in  which  a  banking 

merger would be deemed necessary on stability grounds, although it raises concerns for its effects 

on competition. To address such issue, the draft article might envisage a provision similar to that 

contained in the draft law submitted for consultation in 2004, according to which the AGCM would 

be entitled to authorise concentrations upon request of the Banca d'Italia based on stability grounds. 

2  

3  

See  paragraphs  8  and  10  of  ECB  Opinion  CON/2005/34  of  6  October  2005  at  the  request  of  the  Italian  Ministry  of 
Economy and Finance on an amendment to the draft law on the protection of savings concerning the Banca d’Italia. 
See paragraphs 4 of ECB Opinion CON/2004/16 of 11 May 2004 at the request of the Italian Ministry of Economy and 
Finance on a draft law on the protection of savings.  

2 

                                                      
9. 

This opinion will be published on the ECB’s website.  

Done at Frankfurt am Main, 23 December 2005. 

[ signed ] 

The President of the ECB 

Jean-Claude TRICHET 

3