Salvatore Rossi: Ideas for the future of Italy's financial system

Speech by Mr Salvatore Rossi, Senior Deputy Governor of the Bank of Italy and President of the Institute for the Supervision of Insurance (IVASS), at the 31st Adolfo Beria di Argentine Conference on "Italy's banks in the new European system: positives and negatives", Courmayeur, 23 September 2017.

The views expressed in this speech are those of the speaker and not the view of the BIS.

Italy's banks in the new European system

Italy's economy was already weak when the 2007-08 global financial crisis struck. Its productive system was structurally incapable of delivering innovation, efficiency and genuine development; its financial system was overly reliant on banks. The old dinosaur that was its banking system had already begun to stir back to life, but many banks lagged behind as a result of ingrained bad habits in governance and management. These weaknesses fed on each other and were decried at conferences and publicly condemned. Given that they were also deeply rooted in the country and its history, at least its recent history, a solution appeared remote.

If you get a raging temperature when already under the weather, you run a serious risk, as Italy did in these years. The country is only now coming round and while not yet decisive, the signs are encouraging.