the anglo - saxon countries there is clear evidence of a structural shift in banks ’ business stemming from the greater development of these countries ’ financial markets ; the relationships between banks and firms are changing. as international competition grows more intense, these trends will also affect the italian financial system. the new aspects of credit business and the new operational instruments will need to be assimilated by italian bankers and adapted to the specific features of the italian economic and institutional context ; the supervisory authority is following developments closely. mergers and acquisitions have narrowed the gap between italian and foreign banks in terms of volumes of business. the gap reflects the less developed state of the italian banking market. the ratio of credit to gdp is 85 per cent, a value comparable to that of france, less than those of spain and germany and the euro - area average, all well above 100 per cent. lending to households is less developed in italy, among other things because of the higher propensity to save. most of households ’ borrowing consists of home mortgages ; credit for the purchase of consumer durables is nonetheless expanding, thanks in part to a more diversified and efficient supply. by contrast, lending to firms is comparable to the euro - area average in relation to gdp. interest rates are in line with, and sometimes lower than, those in the other eu countries. another factor tending to reduce banking intermediation is the high level of public debt and the substantial investment of households ’ savings in public - sector securities. although growing, the presence of italian banks in foreign markets is still limited. according to the bis, at the end of last year the italian banking system ’ s assets abroad vis - avis non - bank counterparties equaled 13 per cent of gdp. the levels reached by the french, spanish and german banking systems are much higher, respectively 49, 36 and 72 per cent. the leading international banks are interested in the italian market. german banks have $ 137 billion of claims on italian residents, compared with italian banks ’ exposure of $ 33 billion to german residents ; french banks have $ 114 billion of assets in respect of italy, compared with italian banks ’ $ 28 billion in france. these figures are mainly a reflection of the important production and above all marketing presence of german and french firms in italy. the expansion of credit must serve the needs and in fact follows that of production. we have called on the banking system to increase the support it provides for the internationalization of the italian economy. the growth in italian banks ’ operations in

the proposals received focus mainly on innovative payment methods, anti - money laundering regulations, asset management and tokenization of financial instruments. in addition, there are projects involving regtech solutions and risk measurement and management tools, specifically for environmental, social, and governance ( esg ) risk. what awaits us? the bank of italy plans to form a group of experts to support each of the projects selected. this represents a significant commitment on the bank ’ s part, offering the assistance of expert staff, usually for a period of six months, to help develop and design the solutions proposed. starting in march, the teams will begin their work of consulting with the applicants. to ensure transparency, the list of the 10 winning projects and a brief description of each project will be published on the bank ’ s website. an ancient chinese proverb states ‘ a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step ’. we have taken many steps these last few months. today ’ s event marks another stage in a journey that began some time ago, one that i won ’ t pretend has been smooth sailing all the way but which i nonetheless believe opens up exciting new horizons. so i have faith ; we, along with our market operator partners, are searching for solutions that could have positive externalities, not just for the applicants, but for the entire system. the results of the 2021 call for proposals show that the path we have chosen is the right one. the collaboration between milano hub and the other two innovation incubators, the fintech channel and the regulatory sandbox, are sure to strengthen this process. finally, allow me to reiterate what the governor stated at the start of today's event : i would like to thank all the members of the project evaluation panel, the consultants and all the colleagues who, in various ways, have contributed to the success of this event. i hope that the opening of the milano hub will prove to be another example of our country ’ s ability to ‘ pull together ’. milano hub results of the 2021 call for proposals alessandra perrazzelli 28 february 2022 the hub ’ s three areas of operation 40 projects submitted by a total of 62 entities ( applicants + participants ) fintech hub innovation research & development hub applications received hub places available 9 universities 1 association number of projects slide 1 joint initiatives 11 joint applications joint initiatives r & d hub 5 out of 10 applications in this area were for joint initiatives with universities, fintech companies, law firms, etc