The Italian Banking System : Impact of the Crisis and Future Perspectives

Why was the Italian Banking System more resilient during the sub-prime crisis and harder-hit in the sovereign crisis? Will their strength in the retail market result as an asset or a liability for Italian banks in the future? This book offers an in-depth analysis of one of the most important EU banking systems its attempts to weather the crisis. The Italian Banking System proved more resilient to the first wave of the financial crisis. This book offers an in-depth analysis of the structure and characteristics of one of the most important EU banking systems, which proved to be an asset until 2010, when the worsening of the economic prospects and the sovereign debt crisis dramatically changed the markets' evaluation of banks' risk levels. Some strengths, such as deep involvement in retail market and large investments in Italian sovereign bonds, turned into weaknesses. The survey focuses on the ownership structure and the role of the Foundations of banking origin, the conservative approach to financial innovation, the concentration on the retail business area, the importance of deposits as a funding source, the lower level of use of the interbank channel, the importance of local banking markets and the Bank of Italy's supervisory approach, which was not of the soft touch variety The Italian Banking System proved more resilient to the first wave of the financial crisis. This book offers an in-depth analysis of the structure and characteristics of one of the most important EU banking systems, which proved to be an asset until 2010, when the worsening of the economic prospects and the sovereign debt crisis dramatically changed the markets' evaluation of banks' risk levels. Some strengths, such as deep involvement in retail market and large investments in Italian sovereign bonds, turned into weaknesses. The survey focuses on the ownership structure and the role of the Foundations of banking origin, the conservative approach to financial innovation, the concentration on the retail business area, the importance of deposits as a funding source, the lower level of use of the interbank channel, the importance of local banking markets and the Bank of Italy's supervisory approach, which was not of the soft touch variety. -- Publisher's description Front Matter....Pages i-xx Introduction....Pages 1-8 The Impact of the Financial Crisis on Italian Banks....Pages 9-33 Main Features of the Italian Financial System....Pages 34-54 Consolidation and Governance of Italian Banks....Pages 55-66 Performance and Efficiency of the Italian Banking System....Pages 67-96 Organisational and Business Models of Italian Banks....Pages 97-115 Retail Banking for Households in Italy....Pages 116-139 Corporate and Investment Banking in Italy....Pages 140-169 Private Banking and Asset Management in Italy....Pages 170-191 Italian Banks between Scylla and Charybdis?....Pages 192-200 Back Matter....Pages 201-217