Banca d'Italia
Banca d'Italia is the
central bank of
Italy and part of the
European System of Central Banks. It is located in Palazzo Koch,
Roma, via Nazionale. The bank's current governor is
Mario Draghi, having taken office on
January 16,
2006.
After the charge of monetary and exchange rate policies was shifted in 1998 to the
European Central Bank, within the European institutional framework, the bank implements the decisions, issues
euro banknotes and withdraws and destroys worn pieces.
The main function has thus become banking and financial supervision. The objective is to ensure the stability and efficiency of the system and compliance to rules and regulations; the bank pursues it through secondary legislation, controls and cooperation with governmental authorities.
Following reform in 2005, which was prompted by takeover scandals, the bank has lost exclusive antitrust authority in the cedit sector, which is now shared with
Italy's Antitrust Authority.
Other functions include, market supervision, oversight of the payment system and provision of settlement services, State treasury service, Central Credit Register, economic analysis and institutional consultancy.
The institution, also called
Bankitalia, was founded in 1893, from the fusion of the four major banks in Italy. Until 1928 it was directed by a
General Manager, while since then it is directed by a
Governor. The Governor was elected from the internal commission of managers, with a decree from the
President of the Italian Republic. Its mandate had no preestablished duration and it was, as a matter of fact, to life.
General Managers (1893 - 1928)
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Giacomo Grillo (1893 - 1894)
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Giuseppe Marchiori (1894 - 1900)
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Bonaldo Stringher (1900 - 1928)
Governors (1928 - present)
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Bonaldo Stringher (1928 - 1930)
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Vincenzo Azzolini (1931 - 1944)
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Luigi Einaudi (1945 - 1948)
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Donato Menichella (1948 - 1960)
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Guido Carli (1960 - 1975)
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Paolo Baffi (1975 - 1979)
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Carlo Azeglio Ciampi (1979 - 1993)
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Antonio Fazio (1993 - 2005)
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Mario Draghi (2006 - present)
Governing Bodies
The Bank's governing bodies are the
General Meeting of Shareholders, the
Board of Directors, the
Governor, the
Director General and two Deputy Directors General; the last four constitute the Directorate.
The general meeting takes place yearly and has the purpose of approving accounts and appointing the
auditors. The Board of Directors has administrative powers and is chaired by the governor (or by the Director General in his absence). Following reform in 2005, the governor has lost exclusive responsibility regarding decisions with external relevance (i.e. banking and financial supervision), which has been transferred to the Directorate (on majority vote). The Director General is responsible for the day-to-day administration of the bank, and acts as governor when absent.
The
Board of Auditors assesses the bank's administration and compliance with the law, regulations and the statute.
Appointment
The Directorate's
term of office lasts six years and is renewable once. The appointment of the governor is in charge of the government, heard the Board of Directors, with the approval of the President of the Republic (formally a
decree of the President). The Board of Directors is elected by the shareholders according to the bank
statute.
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Italian lira*
Banca d'Italia*
History of the Banca d'Italia
