reallocation of the bank of italy ’ s shares continued in 2020 with the transfer of about 8 per cent of the capital. considering all the transactions that have taken place since the start of the process to reform the bank ’ s ownership structure ( law 5 / 2014 ), 48 per cent of the capital has been transferred. of the 172 current shareholders, 145 acquired their shares after the law was passed ( 6 insurance companies, 8 pension funds, 11 social security institutions, 40 banking foundations and 80 banks ). the nominal value of the shareholdings exceeding the 3 per cent capital limit stands at around €1. 5 billion, corresponding to almost 20 per cent of the capital ; it was around 27 per cent at the end of 2020 and around 65 per cent on 31 december 2013. in greeting the new shareholders, even those that are not physically present at today ’ s meeting, on behalf of the board of directors and of the governing board, we confirm our desire to see the redistribution of the shareholdings continue at a fast pace, in accordance with the limits set by 1 / 5 bis central bankers'speeches law. the broadening of the shareholder base is among the goals of the reform. we view favourably the participation of social security institutions in the bank ’ s capital, of which they now hold 19 per cent. the entry of pension funds, permitted by the reform law, would increase the weight of social security institutions. the monetary policy measures that have been adopted within the eurosystem to mitigate the economic impact of the pandemic are reflected in the annual accounts submitted today for your approval. total assets reached an unprecedented size at the end of 2020 : the balance sheet total neared €1, 300 billion, up by €336 billion compared with 2019. this increase adds to the growth of €429 billion recorded in the previous five years. therefore, since the end of 2014, total assets have risen by almost 150 per cent, owing to the exceptional growth in banks ’ long - term refinancing operations and the purchases of public sector securities and private sector bonds for monetary policy purposes. following five years of uninterrupted growth, the bank of italy ’ s profitability decreased compared with 2019, while remaining very high compared with the previous years. the impact on income of the significant rise in balance sheet volumes was more than offset by the impact of the reduction in interest rates. the gross profit before tax and transfers to the general risk provision nevertheless remains above €

like business units. we don ’ t know which approach will prevail. what we know is that part of the intermediation chain and of the payment system is moving outside the traditional financial ecosystem. incumbents are feeling the pressure of these changes. the potential for efficiency gains, increased accessibility to financial services and lower enduser costs are great, but great opportunities always come with great risks. safeguarding against risks without curbing innovation is the challenge regulators will face in the near future. existing rules have been designed for traditional activities and intermediaries. it is more and more difficult to understand how, when, and to which agents they can be applied. the temptation to over - regulate, minimizing the risks at the expenses of innovation, may be great. this, however, would not only be against the public interest, but also probably impossible, given the liquid nature of innovation. what regulators may reasonably do is to adopt a pragmatic, flexible approach, coordinated across jurisdictions and based on a continuous dialogue with the industry, as was recently suggested by the fsb. for the time being, approaches and stages of development vary considerably across jurisdictions. the majority of supervisors are still in the early stages of understanding the new phenomena. continued sharing of supervisory practices in this area is crucial. 2 / 2 bis central bankers'speeches