Abstract
This chapter begins with a brief historical perspective on the evolution of the Italian banking sector and then considers the most recent developments in the structure and performance features of the industry. It also covers key issues and concerns that have intensified in Italy particularly in the aftermath of the global financial crisis of 2007-08, including the deterioration in credit quality and the debated reforms affecting cooperative banks.
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Notes
- 1.
It should be noted, however, that while operationally there is no difference between a bank in the form of a company limited by shares and co-operative popolari banks, for mutual banks (banche di credito cooperativo) there are specific regulations and local and mutual assignments that apply.
- 2.
The decay rate is computed as the flow of doubtful and non-performing loans in a given quarter divided by the stock of loans.
- 3.
The Asset Quality Review (AQR) conducted by ECB in 2014 saw the implementation of a simplified version of the EBA standard.
- 4.
Decree (Decreto legge) issued on 24 January 2015 (no. 3 published in the Gazzetta Ufficiale), and approved into law on 24 March 2015.
- 5.
In view of the urgency of implementing the reform, the Bank of Italy issued the document in a very short time after the entry into force of the law converting the Decree. The outcome of the consultation takes on the guise of an update of the “Supervisory Provisions for Banks” contained in the Circular of the Bank of Italy No. 285 of 17 December 2013 (Bank of Italy 2015) and enters into force on the day following its publication on the website of the Bank of Italy, although a transitional regime has been provided.
- 6.
The system of popolari banks comprises 70 institutions, but only the top ten are involved (from the largest to smallest: Banco Popolare, UBI Banca, Banca Popolare dell’Emilia Romagna, Banca Popolare Milano, Banca Popolare di Vicenza, Veneto Banca, Banca Popolare di Sondrio, Credito Valtellinese, Banca Popolare Etruria and Lazio, Banca Popolare di Bari). The reform does not apply to credit co-operative banks or small popolari banks (that is, those with assets less than €8 billion).
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Beccalli, E., Girardone, C. (2016). Banking in Italy. In: Beck, T., Casu, B. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of European Banking. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-52144-6_20
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