enhance the transparency and simplicity of relations with customers, to assist customers before and after the sale of financial products, to strengthen their confidence, to eliminate residual barriers to mobility. it is in the system ’ s interest that customers see concrete progress soon. self - regulation must benefit competition. the cooperative relationship between the banking system and the antitrust authority is positive. in recent times parliament has intervened on various aspects of the bank - customer relationship, in particular by ordering the abolition of costs for closing current accounts and introducing the customer ’ s right to extinguish a mortgage loan without a penalty. the bank of italy looks with favour on the purposes of these measures, even if it has raised doubts on certain technical aspects and suggested leaving room for secondary legislation and selfregulation. for current accounts, the new rules have given rise to problems of interpretation, and progress has been insufficient : complete portability of accounts is not yet guaranteed. for fixed - rate mortgages, the ban on penalties for early repayment may lead to banks setting higher rates : early repayment is an implicit option in favour of the debtor and thus has a financial cost. parliament is examining a bill that will prohibit the maximum overdraft fee, a practice not easily defensible and in fact one that some banks have already dropped in a logic of competition. an amendment approved during the bill ’ s passage through parliament will, in line with views expressed by the bank of italy, allow banks to apply fees for open credit lines, a common practice in other banking systems. the mifid directive on markets in financial instruments, which will enter into force in november, will also affect relations between customers and intermediaries. its more precise description of information requirements, differentiated according to the nature of the customer and the service, will enhance the transparency of the instruments offered. customers will be in a position to benefit from a larger dataset and make more informed decisions. fulfilment of the obligation to offer best execution, extended to include factors other than the price, will be entrusted to suitable organizational solutions identified by intermediaries. the bank of italy, with the other authorities, is engaged in defining a flexible regulatory arrangement consistent with the need to limit the costs for intermediaries and with the objective of enhancing the attractiveness of the italian financial marketplace. we have organized training courses for the staff of some of our branches to assist banks in adapting to the new rules. protection of the parties to bank contracts requires swift - acting

, in the first place within the committee of european banking supervisors. for transnational groups supervisory panels are at work, formed by the authorities of all the countries in which a group is present and coordinated by the authority responsible for consolidated supervision. the bank of italy chairs the panels for unicredit and intesa sanpaolo and participates in many others. the exchange of information and experience is continual, the climate of cooperation excellent. it is necessary to extend harmonization gradually from supervisory rules to supervisory practices : more effective action, equal conditions of competition, a lighter burden on banks, especially those present in different countries, are the objectives. further harmonization of the rules on own funds and risk concentration appears urgent. it will also be necessary to design common criteria for stress tests and work for the adoption of a homogeneous prudential statistical reporting format. in the coordination fora the authorities have conducted simulations to prepare for the crisis of a large bank. one learns a great deal from these exercises, and it would be a good thing if they were held more often. principles and procedures for the allocation of tasks and responsibilities are being defined ; the process must be completed rapidly. a strengthening of the role of the cebs will speed up convergence of supervisory practices and simplify cooperation between authorities. thought also needs to be given to the possibility of emphasizing the position of the coordinating authority in supervisory panels by giving it the role of lead supervisor, with greater powers on the group ’ s subsidiaries for purposes of preventing and managing crises. however, the remaining differences between countries in deposit insurance, insolvency procedures and the rules on the transfer of assets between units of the same group could seriously complicate the management of a crisis. eliminating or attenuating these differences must be placed on the legislative agenda at national and european level. banks, firms and innovative products bank ’ s dealings with firms now embrace not only the provision of loans and payment services, but also the supply of innovative financial services, including risk management products. these can increase the efficiency of the system and be a growth opportunity for banks, provided the customer is given complete information, the seller fully understands the product and the bank ’ s top management, whose duty it is to appreciate these products in all their complexity, is clearly aware. banks provide an important service to firms if they assist them in selecting instruments suited to their characteristics. the purpose must be the hedging of risk, not anything else. to encourage customers to assume financial risks rather than hedge