Salvatore Rossi: Credit, competitiveness and competence - the foundations of development

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 50th Credit Day, Rome, 4 October 2018.

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

As President Pellicanò has already said, this is an important day. We are celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of Credit Day, an annual occasion for taking stock together of the world of credit and the role it plays in Italy.

Italy has changed greatly over the last half century, at least in some respects. In 1968 Italy was emerging from the economic miracle that had turned it into a modern country and was heading for stormy years of social and political turbulence. Today, it is still one of the leading advanced economies, though it is threatened by decline. Fifty years ago the credit system was almost entirely public and now it is almost all private. Yet banks continue to do essentially what they have always done: they collect deposits from a vast array of savers and use these resources to make loans to a smaller group, consisting mainly of firms. Italy's banks find themselves at a crossroads today, as loans may no longer be their fundamental prerogative.