##scation was introduced by article 12 - sexies of decree law 306 / 1992. seized assets whose confiscation under criminal law is pending. 22 a committee set up at the ministry of justice, on which the bank of italy and the uic are represented, is currently examining this problem, among others. it is necessary to continue on this path of action. 4. the planned changes in the apparatus to combat money laundering as i mentioned, in february the ministry for the economy and finance began a consultation on a draft legislative decree transposing the third directive into italian law. it is certainly right to proceed with a general reordering of the current provisions and to give the competent supervisory authorities a larger role in issuing regulations and verifying compliance. transposition of the directive has also provided the occasion to propose a rationalization of the tasks of the authorities involved, in various capacities, in the prevention and suppression of money laundering. however, the draft decree, confirming provisions now de facto outdated, continues to entrust the ministry with powers of “ supervision and direction ” of the overall activity to prevent money laundering and the financing of terrorism. in addition, it establishes that the minister may avail himself of the financial security committee, thus extending to money laundering the incisive powers with which that committee was entrusted by law on a temporary and exceptional basis in order to face the emergency of the fight against international terrorism. the proposed solution raises doubts. in particular, the decision to give the ministry powers of direction over all the authorities and administrations concerned cannot be endorsed. it conflicts with the internationally recognized autonomy and independence of financial intelligence units. as far back as 1998, the european central bank, reviewing a law on the reorganization of the uic, observed that in light of the need to ensure the uic ’ s independence the ministry ’ s powers of “ supervision ” of the fight against money laundering had to be interpreted narrowly, so as not to imply governmental interference in the work of the uic. the draft decree implementing the directive also conflicts with senate bill 1366 presented by the government on 5 march 2007 concerning, among other matters, the reorganization of the tasks of the authorities responsible for supervising the financial markets. in fact, the bill envisages the incorporation of the uic into the bank of italy and, in that context, specifically regulates the institutional position and the tasks of the organization entrusted with performing the function of financial intelligence unit, observing the guarantees of independence and autonomy required by the international provisions. the

of these were smes. venture capital investment, which is particularly important for young innovative firms, stood at a historical high of €8. 2 billion, funding a record 4, 400 companies. but because the united kingdom is home to around one - fifth of the eu ’ s private equity funds, brexit may disrupt private equity investment as non - eu private equity funds can only be marketed in the eu under strict conditions. in order to fill the gap left by the possible loss of uk private equity funds, we need to harmonise the myriad of existing national requirements and ensure that eu - based funds and managers are allowed to reap the full benefits of the single passport and market their products to all suitable eu investors. all this suggests that more needs to be done to further diversify external funding of euro area firms, in particular for smes, which are typically the first to suffer from tightening credit conditions when the tide turns and risk aversion rises. this relates to both market integration and market development. the role of market development market development entails both seizing new opportunities and making sure that existing frameworks are fit for purpose. fintech, for example, opens up new sources of funding and new opportunities for investors, such as crowdfunding. and the work by the eu technical expert group on sustainable finance, published last week, will help deepen the market for “ green ” investments by laying out a common taxonomy for sustainable financial instruments. 9 the ecb is supporting market development efforts by establishing state - of - the - art market infrastructures. in november last year, for example, the ecb launched target instant payment settlement ( tips ), which allows payment service providers to offer funds transfers to customers in real time and around the clock across europe. 10 we have also launched a market consultation on a european mechanism for the issuance and initial distribution of debt securities ( eddi ), to which we expect comments before 9 july. 11 cutting red tape also supports market development. i welcome the current work by the european commission to consider ways to encourage smes to tap capital markets for their financing 5 / 8 bis central bankers'speeches needs more often. 12 but incentives must be aligned, too. in particular, preferential tax treatment contributes to pushing firms towards debt funding. this unequal treatment might incentivise excessive leverage and hinder effective private risk sharing. the role of market integration market integration, in turn, leverages the potential of market development initiatives and enhances market