On the anniversary of the decree of the law taxing the so-called extra income of the banks, immediately reformed in a radical way, there is talk again – it is not clear if there is a foundation or just for warnings – of a August law regarding additional income of companies operating in sectors that particularly benefited from the consequences of the ECB’s monetary policy and from the general context, even in the late energy crisis, as well as subsequent developments. It is hoped that this time – if the project has any basis – it will be reflected well before deciding, to avoid a persistent diabolicum with subsequent backtracking and total revisiting. It is clear that it will not benefit the government or the banks, or, in general, the credibility of the behavior related to the decisions of the Judge of Laws, the Constitutional Court. But, in the end, consumers won’t even benefit from it.
Amendment of the banking decree
In the complete revision of the decree on banks – given however the persistence of the difficult translation into concrete consequences of the unclear concept of additional income – the greater revenues and profits of institutions owed, so to speak, to a third party, the ECB, were taken into account, but this resulted in incentives for mandatory capital strengthening which would put banks in a position that is able to increase the supply of credit. In other words, chose the path of an imposed incentive to preventpro quota allocation of profits, although, in the end, the latter is certainly not a satisfactory result. In other words, a way to balance the interest of the corporation, especially the creation of value for the shareholder, with the general interest.
Proposal for comparison between government and banking sector
Now, instead of planning unilateral interventions that, as in the case of the alleged extra bank profits, have taste of dirigisme of other times buried in history, the time will be ripe for a government-bank confrontation, with ABI – social partners, businesses with Confindustria and labor unions. The conditions for consultation advocated in 1993 by the then Prime Minister, Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, closely related to the politics of profits, of all profits, as underlined by Ciampi. However, that relationship scheme can be a source of inspiration by presenting a general frame of reference that can be referred to in all the changes that have occurred in the interim.
Risks of unilateral decision and consultative judgment
Ex-auctoritate decisions that violate the autonomy of the company will lend themselves, as mentioned and as constantly repeated in comment on last year’s decree, in an unfavorable judgment of the Council with all the consequences. The rise and fall of taxation of energy surpluses is a clear reminder.
Historical reflection on banking regulation
It should be noted that even in the second half of the 1930s and after that, while visible the Banking Act of 1936 the possibility to set, by the monetary authorities, the level of lending and borrowing rates in the bank, this provision was never used, even during the few years in which the fascist regime remained in place. Next, the institutes the “banking cartel” was born which was decommissioned in the 1980s because it was considered a violation of competition which the Supervisory Authority had begun to protect at that time.
Final considerations and authoritative opinions
Now, having the same European regulation that it has recognized in banks the nature of a business, a powerful choice risks being rejected even at the community level. In any case, unlike what happened in August 2023, it wouldn’t really be that bad for the government to give itself to powerful opinions on the quid agenda, first of all the Bank of Italy and Consob. The government is free to follow them or not. (All rights reserved)