Bank of Italy
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| Headquarters | Palazzo Koch, Rome, Italy |
|---|---|
| Established | 1893 |
| Governor | Ignazio Visco |
| Central bank of | Italy |
| Currency |
Euro EUR (ISO 4217) |
The Bank of Italy, known in Italian as Banca d'Italia (pronounced [ˈbaŋka diˈtaːlja]), also known as Bankitalia, is the central bank of Italy and part of the European System of Central Banks. It is located in Palazzo Koch, via Nazionale, Rome. The bank's current governor is Ignazio Visco, who took the office on 1 November 2011.
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 credit sector, which is now shared with the Italian Competition Authority (Italian: Autorità Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato).
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.
Bank of Italy gold reserves are 2,451.8 tonnes (2006).
The institution was established in 1893 from the combination of three major banks in Italy (after the Banca Romana scandal). The new central bank first issued bank-notes during 1926. Until 1928, it was directed by a general manager, after this time instead by a governor elected by an internal commission of managers, with a decree from the President of the Italian Republic, for a term of seven years.
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