«In November I will leave the leadership, the State will pay 3 billion euros in profits and taxes»- Corriere.it

The governor of the Bank of Italy, Ignazio Visco, confirms his imminent exit from the summit in via Nazionale, due to the expiry of his mandate: Today’s – he said in his speech to the meeting of shareholders – the last meeting that I preside as governor; next November I will leave the leadership of the Institute, which I entered in 1972. Visco governor since 1 November 2011. In the twelve intense years I lived at the top of the Bank, important changes have taken place in the exercise of my functions of the Institute and all the services have been ensured even in the difficult phase of the pandemic, he said. Among the most accredited candidates for the succession is that of Fabio Panetta, former general manager of the Bank of Italy and, since 1 January 2020, member of the Executive Committee of the European Central Bank.

To the State 3 billion

In his speech, Visco explained that the rate hike decided by the ECB itself and the end of the refinancing of banks at favorable conditions led to a worsening of the Bank of Italy’s 2022 balance sheet, which will continue in 2023. Bankitalia, like the ECB and the other banks of the Eurosystem, will have to face negative gross results, before earnings gradually return to growth after 2023-2024. In 2022 the gross profit of the Bank of Italy fell from 9.2 to 5.9 billion euros. The slimmed-down budget. At the end of 2022, the balance sheet assets of the Bank of Italy amounted to 1,477 billion, a decrease of 4% compared to 2021. Ten years ago, before the App and Pepp purchase programs, the balance sheet total was about 600 billion. The size therefore remains at very high levels compared to the past; however, due to the effect of the normalization process undertaken, it is destined to decrease, at a more sustained pace starting from the current year.
For 2022 the Bank of Italy will pay the State 3 billion euros between profits and taxes, down sharply compared to 6.8 billion in 2021. In the last 10 ten years, Visco underlined, the Bank has paid the State a total of 38.2 billion in profits in addition to 12.8 billion in taxes. The dividend will be equal to the amount paid in recent years, equal to 340 million, corresponding to 4.5% of the share capital.

stage of uncertainty

The international situation continues to be characterized by profound uncertainty. Geopolitical tensions and the repercussions of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine have led to a slowdown in global economic activity and contributed to the return of inflation, observes Visco. Which assures: We are carefully following the tensions taking place on the markets. The euro area banking sector, thanks to the capital strengthening and other prudential safeguards introduced after the global financial crisis, extended to all banks in Europe, is well capitalized; in any case, where necessary, the Eurosystem is ready to intervene with all available tools, in order to maintain the effectiveness of the monetary policy transmission mechanism and preserve financial stability.