and finance from time to time for topics “ relevant to the matters assigned to them by law and pertaining to aspects of the overall stability, transparency and efficiency of the financial system ”. for the aspects directly bearing on the tasks of the bank of italy, the dropping of the rule that requires the bank and the antitrust authority to adopt their respective measures authorizing bank acquisitions in a “ single act ” is commendable. besides involving problems of implementation, the provision is asystemic and does not serve the objectives pursued. it would be superseded by one in which the two authorities are required to adopt their respective measures within 60 days of the time the application, accompanied by all the necessary documentation, is filed. the draft decree appropriately specifies that only acquisitions giving control of a bank fall within the scope of the new rule. consistently with the new division of tasks, the antitrust authority, acting on a request from the bank of italy, may authorize agreements and concentrations that restrict competition, on grounds of the functionality of the payment system or the stability of the banks concerned. by enlarging the tasks with which the authorities are charged and rendering them more complex, the law on savings makes it necessary for the authorities to enjoy a form of legal protection for good - faith conduct in the exercise of their institutional functions, in order to safeguard the independent and impartial performance of supervision. the draft decree inserts into the part of law 262 / 2005 governing administrative procedures a provision that limits the liability of the authorities ( the bank of italy, consob, isvap and covip ), the members of their respective decision - making bodies and their employees to cases of bad faith or gross negligence. this rule is in line with the most advanced international standards 14 and with what the international monetary fund has suggested on more than one occasion. the draft decree addresses the question of conflicts of interest in banking and amends the provisions of the consolidated law on banking concerned with connected lending 15 and the obligations of banks ’ corporate officers. 16 on connected lending, the draft decree introduces general principles and eliminates excessively detailed prescriptions. flexibility is restored to the prudential rules by referring to sources of secondary legislation and specific measures adopted by the credit authorities. the guidelines recently established by the interministerial committee for credit and savings in conformity with the indications of the law on savings establish a very stringent discipline, in view of both the broad definition of related parties and the quantitative limits set on risk

, whereby the directorate is required to adopt measures of external significance that were previously within the scope of the governor ’ s authority. the new rule was promptly applied in decision - making. some delicate problems nevertheless emerged during the rule ’ s initial application, as the law lends itself to a diversity of interpretations. in transposing the principle of collegiality into the statute, an effort has been made to define the scope of the measures to be adopted by the directorate more precisely. other changes concerned the procedural rules for appointing and removing the governor and the other members of the directorate and their term of office. these rules have been rewritten in full conformity with the new legislation and the principles of the european system of central banks. the law also required the statute to be amended with regard to the powers of the board of directors, which was to be expressly entrusted with functions of supervision and control within the bank. with the amendments accordingly made to the statute, the system of controls will involve three actors : the board of directors is charged with overseeing operations in accordance with the responsibilities of the administrative body ; the board of auditors is charged not only with ensuring conformity with the law but also with exercising accounting control ; and, as required by the statute of the escb, the bank ’ s accounts will be examined by external auditors. the law also lays down that the government is to issue a regulation revising the bank of italy ’ s ownership structure and governing the procedures for the transfer of those of its shares held by persons other than the state or other public entities. 5 the new capital accord ( basel 2 ) and directives 2006 / 48 / ec and 2006 / 49 / ec on the business of credit institutions and the capital adequacy of investment firms and credit institutions, respectively. article 19 of law 262 / 2005. the ownership of the bank of italy has been a topic of debate and analysis of late. it is not up to the bank of italy to choose its owners, but it is appropriate to reflect on some general principles that should guide regulation of the ownership of a modern central bank, in the light of european rules, international standards and the experience of other major countries. this comparison shows a variety of arrangements. the model of exclusively public ownership, though widespread ( france, germany ), is not the only solution ; there are examples of public and privatesector shareholders both being present ( austria, belgium ) as well as the totally private ownership structure of the federal reserve