Brussels, 09/11/2005 (Agence Europe) - Charlie McCreevy, European Commissioner in charge of the Internal Market, declared on 4 November that he was "personally in favour of taking action" against Italy on the functioning of its banking system. Confirming these words, his spokesperson said on 9 November that the legal services of the Commission were preparing a "letter of formal notice". In order for the procedure to become official, the legal services must first return their conclusions, a procedure which, according to the spokesperson, is likely to take "days" rather than weeks. Mr McCreevy must also "discuss the matter with his colleagues" within the College, the spokesperson added. The infringement procedure in question may: 1) relate only to the role played by Antonio Fazio, current Governor of the Bank of Italy, on the purchase of the Italian bank Antonveneta by the Dutch bank ABN Amro ; 2) more generally, challenge Italian legislation transposing European banking law on the principles of the free movement of capital and/or the freedom of establishment.
This new stage in the difficult relationship between the Commission and Italy in the field of financial services comes shortly after Charlie McCreevy presented the Ecofin Council with the Commission's report on the economic, legal and political obstacles to cross-border mergers and acquisitions in the sector of financial services (see EUROPE 9064). According to this study, many financial players believe that various national regulators are continuing to use their powers of control to block the purchase of national financial institutions by entities from other Member States.
Furthermore, the reform of the status of the Bank of Italy is making progress, according to Il Giornale of 9 November (see EUROPE 9020). The Senate having given its green light, that of the Chamber of Deputies is expected in the next couple of days. The reform aims to replace the current mandate for the Governor, which imposes neither time nor age limits, with a non-renewable mandate of seven years, also with no age limit. The profile of the shareholders of the Italian Central Bank may also be set to change, as only the State and public entities are allowed to hold shares in the capital of the institution.