Technological progress in finance has been accelerating over the last decade. In the future, it is likely that financial intermediaries may undergo significant challenges as regards their traditional business model and functions, since an increasing share of payments may be settled without...

The paper investigates whether there is sufficient empirical support in Italy for the introduction of a sectoral countercyclical capital buffer (CCyB) in the macroprudential framework. We study the sectoral decomposition of the credit-to-GDP gap over the period 1990Q1-2017Q2. Overall, our...

In this paper we describe an analytical framework to assess financial stability risks in the Italian economy. We use a large number of indicators, selected to take into account the peculiarities of the Italian economy, to monitor risks in seven areas: interlinkages, the credit markets, the...

We investigate the valuation risk affecting financial instruments classified as L2 and L3 for accounting purposes. These are instruments that are not directly traded in active markets and are often relatively complex, opaque and illiquid. There is a huge volume of L2 and L3 instruments in the...

Using estimates of the Basel III leverage ratio, we show the rapid convergence of banks in the euro area towards levels well above the preliminary 3 per cent threshold. Contrary to predictions that the new requirement might interfere with the conduct of monetary policy and its transmission via...

Italian Abstract: Il lending-based crowdfunding (LBC) è un canale di finanziamento, alternativo rispetto a quello rappresentato dagli intermediari creditizi, per mezzo del quale famiglie e piccole imprese sono finanziate direttamente da una moltitudine di investitori. L'incontro tra domanda e...

Shadow banking is the creation or transfer – by banks and non-bank intermediaries – of bank-like risks outside the banking system. In Italy the shadow banking system is fully regulated, mostly following the principle of same business-same rules or ‘bank-equivalent regulation'. After an...

In the post-crisis era banks' capital adequacy is established by the Basel III capital standards and, in many jurisdictions, also by supervisory stress tests. In this paper we first describe the ways in which supervisory stress tests can supplement the risk-based capital framework of Basel III...

In the aftermath of the euro-area sovereign debt crisis, several commentators have questioned the favourable treatment of banks' sovereign exposures allowed by the current prudential rules. In this paper, we assess the overall desirability of reforming these rules. We conclude that the...

We provide an analytical framework for assessing financial stability risks arising from the real estate sector in Italy. This framework consists of two blocks: three complementary early warning models (EWMs) and a broad set of indicators related to the real estate market, to credit and to...