, in the form bis central bankers ’ speeches of shares, bonds and loans, is still relatively small : these instruments account for just 16 per cent of the financial assets of insurance companies and pension funds in italy, compared with 23 per cent in the euro area as a whole. nevertheless, even a more favourable regulatory environment may not be enough to induce investors to diversify their assets, although the decline in the returns on traditional instruments has encouraged the search for higher yields. investment in securities issued by firms, typically riskier and relatively illiquid, calls for specific professional skills. many investors lack these skills and thus need services and infrastructures to acquire and analyse the information necessary for risk assessment ; they also need specialized funds to which to entrust their assets, and financial instruments for the efficient diversification of risks and profit opportunities. closer financial market integration at the european level is essential for the development of new financial instruments. this is the aim of the proposal of the european commission, which in february presented a green paper on building a capital markets union in the eu by the end of 2019. the suggested reforms are intended to overcome the obstacles to raising risk capital and debt capital, particularly for small and medium - sized enterprises ; they may also help to support asset diversification by institutional investors. the finance ministers have asked the commission to submit a detailed plan of action by the end of september of this year. in the short term, the priorities are to simplify the prospectus directive, making it easier for firms, especially small and medium - sized ones, to obtain listing ; to standardize information on credit quality ; to develop a market for simple and transparent securitizations, possibly subject to favourable prudential treatment ; and to create a european private placement market, a form of financing that allows firms to place their bonds with one or more institutional investors at a lower cost than that of issuing securities to the public. over a longer period, for full capital markets union the various countries ’ company and bankruptcy legislation needs to be harmonized and the differences between the tax treatment of capital gains reduced, notably as regards the method of calculating the tax base. legislative harmonization will be a gradual process ; it will therefore be best to follow a modular approach, starting with the easiest reforms and then gauging where there is room to tackle more ambitious challenges. the project is of major importance for italy. the creation of broad and efficient markets would offer firms, even the smallest of them, new opportunities for borrowing

in recorded history and 2024 may eclipse it. climate change is overwhelming us, imperilling humanity and the planet. green swan events due to climate change are likely to recur with rising intensity. threats to financial stability through physical risks and transition risks are already impacting the balance sheets and operations of banks and other financial intermediaries from the rising 3 / 6 bis - central bankers'speeches incidence of economic costs and financial losses from severe climate events. as economies transition towards net zero targets, banks may be even more severely impacted by transition risks from policy changes, technological developments and investor and consumer preferences influenced by environmental, social and governance ( esg ) goals. it is against this backdrop that the basel committee on banking supervision ( bcbs ) has issued 18 principles for effective management and supervision of climate related financial risks. some central banks and regulators are engaged in the design and conduct of climate stress tests with a view to informing the framing of monetary policy strategies and regulatory and supervisory approaches for climate - related financial risk management among regulated entities. from the point of view of deposit insurance, climate risks are different from traditional risks in the sense that effective insurance schemes and hedging tools are not available. furthermore, modelling these risks is challenging due to evolving green taxonomy and non - availability of data on greenhouse gas ( ghg ) emissions, particularly on emissions down the value chain or scope 3 emissions. nonetheless, as the frequency and severity of natural disasters increase and morph into financial stability considerations, it is crucial for deposit insurers to prepare for actively assessing and addressing the potential impact of climate change on the institutions they oversee. in fact, the iadi's surveys show that the majority of deposit insurers expect the relevance of esg to increase, with implications for net claim outflows and resolution costs. fund management by deposit insurers may need an overhaul, incorporating climate friendly avenues such as sovereign green bonds which are increasingly gaining traction. some of the options that deposit insurers can explore are climate risk - based premiums, climate stress testing of funds, and building in elements of sustainability into fund management, risk monitoring and resolution plans. 6 additionally, collaboration and knowledge - sharing among deposit insurers, regulators and industry stakeholders can help establish best practices and enhance resilience in the face of climate risk while ensuring the stability of financial systems. 5. enhancing crisis preparedness and business continuity management it is evident that in addition to traditional risks, the new risks that have been set