capital formation – in accounting for the very low average size of firms, and especially their very modest ability to grow. 3. 1 direct evidence of financial literacy and adult skills on average, entrepreneurs and managers of italian smes have a relatively low level of financial literacy. in the 2008 wave of the bank of italy ’ s survey on household income and wealth ( shiw ), heads of households were asked questions aimed at measuring their competencies and financial knowledge. the answers to questions on ( i ) changes in purchasing power, ( ii ) differences in the levels of risk of investing in shares and bonds, and ( iii ) portfolio diversification ( questions chosen with the aim of following the lead by lusardi and mitchell in their comparisons of financial literacy among individuals and across countries ; see lusardi and mitchell, 2008 and 2011 ) show that only 47 per cent of entrepreneurs and managers of firms with less than 100 employees were able to respond correctly to all three ( relatively simple ) questions. hence more than half of these entrepreneurs and managers were not able to answer at least one of the relevant questions. this compares to 43 per cent among managers in the public sector or larger ( with more than 500 employees ) enterprises ( the difference between the two groups is only partly explained by their educational qualifications ). less than one quarter of all respondents were able to provide a correct answer to all three questions. these findings clearly suggest that there is significant room for improvement. perhaps even more worrying is the result from the 2013 oecd survey of adult skills that shows that a significant proportion of italian adults ( higher than in the other surveyed countries ) score the lowest levels of proficiency on the literacy and numeracy scales. less than 30 per cent of adults score level 3 or above ( on a 1 – 5 scale ) in both literacy and numeracy skills, compared to more than 50 per cent in the oecd average. italian workers also display lower skills in literacy and numeracy in the work place ( possibly also due to the average size of small companies ), even if they seem to score better in their ability to use ict. an insufficient level of literacy and numeracy skills might impact productivity and innovation even more than financial literacy. 3. 2 indirect evidence of the lack of financial literacy indirect evidence of the lack of financial literacy can be obtained by looking at the possible inefficient uses of financial instruments by smaller companies. one example is the potential misuse of derivatives by non - financial corporations

. this has led us to adapt our communication, which is based on the intention to keep rates low for a prolonged period. given the low level of inflation, investors are anticipating a qe package between now and the end of the year. are they mistaken? our new long - term liquidity lending ( tltro ) programme, which will be launched in september, will in particular enable banks to address their major bond refinancing needs. as a result, the banks will not only be encouraged to lend more and at more favourable conditions, but they will raise less funding on the markets. this liquidity will be returned to investors, which they can use to buy other assets. so we shouldn ’ t be expecting a genuine qe package? last month we launched a package of measures that will be activated in september and december before being renewed on a quarterly basis. barring any new circumstances, we need to take time to measure the effects. when you talk about large - scale asset purchases, which assets do you mean, exactly? to be really effective, bearing in mind the limited size of the private capital market in europe, this type of programme is likely to include mainly government bonds. bis central bankers ’ speeches the new longer - term loans to banks are conditional on them granting credit. don ’ t you think they will use them to purchase sovereign bonds as in the past? they could do it to invest their liquidity on a temporary basis before finding a permanent home for it. the banks are aware that it is not wise to be over - exposed to sovereign debt. the link between banks and governments, which is what prompted the sovereign debt crisis, is now monitored very closely. the euro has not really fallen despite the fall in the key interest rates. is this a concern for you? we have noticed that following the new measures, a persistent rising trend has been halted. we are confident that when the new measures are implemented, they will underpin an accommodative monetary policy. the euro area needs such a policy – unlike other major currency areas, which are at a completely different phase of the economic cycle. and this rebalancing is likely to be reflected, over time, in the external value of the euro. a portuguese bank has triggered turmoil on the european markets. are the euro area and its banks still a cause for concern despite all the firewalls that have been put in place? the banking union that the european central bank is actively preparing for will