Italy
Globalisation gives greater role to communication
The globalisation of financial markets has made central bank communication more important than ever, says Mario Draghi, the governor of the Bank of Italy.
Italy's Visco pushes for global cooperation
Global cooperation and coordination are the only ways to deal with systemic events that have the potential to wreck the global financial system, says Ignazio Visco, the chief economist at the Bank of Italy.
Central banks criticised for communication failure
The world's most powerful central banks were inconsistent in their communication and lacked coordination during the summer's market turmoil, Richard Portes, one of the authors of an influential report on international financial stability, said on Monday.
Italian consumption must recover, says Draghi
Stronger consumer spending is needed for the Italian economy to grow and to stabilise, according to Mario Draghi, the governor of the Bank of Italy.
Better tax rules would aid Italian growth: Draghi
Less tax for labour and firms would boost the potential growth rate of the economy, Mario Draghi, the governor of the Bank of Italy, told an audience in Rome.
EMU leads to bond-market convergence
Economic and monetary union in Europe has led to substantial convergence in euro-area sovereign bond markets, according to research published by the San Francisco Federal Reserve.
Wellink calls for speedy ABN break-up
Nout Wellink, the governor of the Netherlands Bank, has urged the three banks who have taken over ABN AMRO to quickly implement their plans to break it up.
Impact of deepening is complex: Italy's Visco
Financial deepening has affected the speed and strength of the monetary policy transmission mechanism, according to Ignazio Visco, a deputy director at the Bank of Italy.
Can rainy-day funds make a difference in Europe?
The Bank of Italy has published a paper looking at whether rainy-day funds, which US states (who usually have to balance their budgets) use to limit procyclical fiscal policies, have a role to play in European fiscal policy.
Sales remain within Gold Agreement Limit
Gold sales by the 16 signatories to the Central Bank Gold Agreement between 27 September 2006 and 26 September 2007 amounted to 475.75 tonnes, 24.25 tonnes shy of the 500 limit, the Bank for International Settlements said on Wednesday.
Padoa-Schioppa to chair IMFS
Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa, Italy's economy and finance minister, is to head the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC).
Target2: ready to go
Five years in the making, Europe's new large-value payments system, known as Target2, is ready to go live on 19 November.
No job losses under Bank of Italy branch closure
The Bank of Italy has reassured its employees that it will be making no redundancies, despite closing more than a third of its branches.
Regulators to cooperate on rules to combat crisis
Financial regulators from the world's leading economies are set to draft recommendations to avert global instability in response to the recent market turmoil.
Germany is the ECB's biggest fan
Out of the five major Eurozone economies, it is Germany, the largest, that is most confident that the European Central Bank (ECB) fulfils its primary roles of managing inflation and encouraging growth.
Bank of Italy closes more than a third of branches
The Bank of Italy said on Wednesday that it will close 33 of its 97 branches as part of the reorganisation of its network.
Italian bank takeovers a success - Saccomanni
The acquisition of southern Italy's leading banks by banks in the centre and north of the country have had important positive effects, contributing to improve principles and techniques of credit management, Fabrizio Saccomanni, a director general of the…
Italian government eyes reserves for debt payment
The Italian government is proposing to use part of the central bank's gold and currency reserves to pay down national debt, which is currently at 107% of the country's gross national product. The country's parliament has approved a resolution calls for…
Italy: annual report 2006
The Italian economy grew at around 1.8% (deflators) in 2006, supported by strong world demand and a cyclical upturn in the euro area.
Bank of Italy orders Italease managers to resign
Two senior managers of Banca Italease SpA, a Milan-based leasing company, have been ordered by the Bank of Italy to resign. The central bank said that the company needs to raise capital after it had to spend € 610m ($843m) on unwinding derivatives bets…
Draghi testifies to parliament
Stronger economic growth has meant a smaller fiscal deficit, noted the governor of the Bank of Italy, Mario Draghi, but Italy's structural deficit remains substantial.
Draghi sees more efficiencies from bank mergers
Mario Draghi, the governor of the Bank of Italy, says the market expects further savings as banks in Italy consolidate. Speaking at the meeting of the Italian Banking Association in Rome on 11 July, Draghi said savings would come from unifying IT systems…
New French candidate for IMF emerges
A former finance minister of France, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, has emerged as one of the early favourites to become the next head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The current managing director, Rodrigo de Rato, announced last month that he would…
Italy's Draghi on financial innovations
In a speech on 4 June Mario Draghi, governor of the Banca D'Italia, reviewed some of the most important financial innovations seen in recent years, and the consequences they have had for financial markets and institutions.