the international bank for reconstruction and development in 1947 and was one of the first countries to receive a loan to rebuild its economy after the second world war. banca d'italia has been involved from the very beginning. it was one of my predecessors, donato menichella, then governor of banca d'italia, who conceived the special southern development fund ( cassa per il mezzogiorno ), which proved to be a powerful instrument for attracting, coordinating and implementing aid in the largest intervention the world bank had ever made in europe. 1 the world bank's assistance to italy from the early 1950s to the mid - 1960s had two objectives. first, to finance the aid programme centred on the cassa per il mezzogiorno. second, to cover the additional dollar needs following the programme's adoption without depleting italy's foreign exchange reserves. overall, the world bank's support was instrumental in kick - starting post - war reconstruction and in narrowing the gdp per capita gap between the south and the centre - north of italy. the programme proved successful, and in the period 1951 - 65 italy's real economic growth averaged 6 per cent per year, while gdp per capita in the south rose from 50 per cent to 60 per cent of that in the centre - north. in the decades that followed, italy became a major donor. its cumulative contribution to the paid - in capital of the world bank group amounts to about $ 1 billion. since 1960, when the fund for the low - income countries ( international development association, ida ) was created, italy has supported all 20 ida replenishments with more than $ 12. 4 billion. the world bank group adds significant value through its financial leverage and the knowledge it brings to joint high - impact projects and programmes. but italy's contribution and support to the group is far more than financial. italy – and with it banca d'italia – actively contributes to the governance of the world bank through its daily participation in the board of executive directors. the world bank rome office is a key component of this collaboration. banca d'italia has proudly supported it over the years, most recently when we offered it a new, larger location. we expect the rome office to be a catalyst for fostering collaboration among the various entities within the world bank group, and to provide a space for closer engagement with external stakeholders, including partnerships with the italian authorities. we also expect that the new rome office will become a vibrant

ignazio visco : economic and financial situation of italy and prospects for economic governance in the european union introductory statement by mr ignazio visco, governor of the bank of italy, at an “ open coordinators meeting ” of the econ committee ( european parliament ) for an exchange of views on the economic and financial situation of italy and prospects for economic governance in the european union, brussels, 11 april 2017. * * * introductory statement mr chairman, honourable members, i would like to thank you for inviting me here today and offering me the opportunity to clarify my views on matters relating to my institutional duties. i will start by focussing on the role that monetary policy plays in the euro area at this juncture, as well as on its limitations. i will then discuss the situation of italian banks against the background of italy ’ s economic recovery. over the last few years the euro area has experienced a challenging environment indeed. downward risks to price stability increased sharply after mid - 2014. there was a material risk of expectations de - anchoring. the activation of ‘ debt - deflation mechanisms ’ would have had very serious effects on the economy in a situation of high levels of public and private debt. i believe we at the ecb governing council adopted the right set of monetary policy measures to counter these risks. official interest rates were progressively cut ; those on the deposit facility for banks were reduced to negative levels, possibly the most ‘ non - conventional ’ element of our monetary policy. we supplied base money in very substantial amounts through the asset purchase programme. finally, we offered banks rewarding refinancing conditions for providing more credit to the economy. the impact of the overall package has been considerable and is still unfolding. without it, inflation would have been negative in 2015 and in 2016 ; gdp growth would have been lower too. according to ecb estimates, which we share, monetary policy will raise gdp by more than 1. 5 percentage points over the period 2017 – 19. we expect the effect to be somewhat stronger for italy, at around 2 percentage points. the measures have also significantly lessened financial fragmentation in the euro area, favouring a more homogenous transmission of the monetary impulse and, in turn, an improvement in financing conditions for firms and households. although deflation risks have virtually disappeared, inflation remains subdued in the euro area as a whole. the positive dynamics of headline inflation over recent months largely reflects its most volatile components, such as energy and unprocessed food