There Bank of Italy closed the 2024 exercise with a negative resultwhich is affected by the ECB monetary policy, which has reduced the margin of interest, but is expected to return this year. The dimension of the (active) budget has decreased for the third consecutive year, affected lower refinancing operations and the decrease in securities held in portfolio for monetary policy purposes (quantitative tightening).
Loss budget in 2024
In 2024, the gross result of the Bank of Italy was negative for 7.3 billion euroscompared to -7.1 billion of the previous year. A result that serves a negative value of the margin of interest, equal to -4.2 billion, and the net result of the redistribution of monetary income, equal to -1.9 billion.
There Size of the budget has reduced of 149 billion euros. Since 2021 the overall contraction was 28%, from 1,538 to 1.104 billion. The decline in the assets is mainly attributable to the reduction of refinancing operationsdropped from 150 to -23 billion, and the decrease in titles held for monetary policy purposespassed from 657 to 591 billion, largely (544 billion) consisting of Italian government bonds. As for the passive, there was a reduction both in the deposits of the credit institutions (-66 billion) and in the debt balance of the Bank of Italy in the target system.
The current policy of Distribution of dividends of the Bank of Italy provides that the sums intended for the participants are between 340 and 380 millionsubject to the capacity of net profit and the needs of assets. Therefore, to be worth the net profit of the 2024 year, equal to 844 million, it was proposed to recognize a dividend of 200 million and to allocate 644 million to the State.
In light of the current market forecasts on the evolution of interest rates, Palazzo Koch is confirmed The expectation of a return to a gross profit from 2025.
Caution on new cuts in interest rates
About new rates cuts of interest, the governor Fabio Panetta He showed himself cautious.
“The fight against inflation cannot yet be completed. It will be essential to carefully monitor all the factors that could hinder the return to the goal of 2 percent”
said Panetta, adding
“Global uncertainty remains highfueled by persistent geopolitical and commercial tensions. This context penalizes international exchanges and accentuates the fragmentation of the world economy, contributing to slowdown in production activity“.
He then explained:
“Monetary policy decisions will have to balance two factors. On the one hand, the weakness of the economy European and geopolitical tensions are curbing consumption and investments, helping to contain inflation. On the other hand, the increase in uncertainty – mainly due to the announcements, sometimes contradictory, on the commercial policies of the United States – caution imposes on the path of decreasing official rates.
Growing gold reserves with metal record
The golden reserves of via Nazionale grow, mostly for the increase in Holy value in portfoliorather than for new purchases. As of 31 December 2024, the value of the euro of the gold was equal to 197.9 billion (147.2 at the end of 2023): increase to be attributed entirely toappreciation of the metal, che was in the year 34.4%while the detained quantity remained unchanged and there are no plans to increase it.
The gold reserves are deposited for 44.9% in Italy, 43.3% in the United States, 6.1% in Switzerland and 5.7% in the United Kingdom.
Italian gold reserves amount to 2,452 tons – Of which 4.1 tons in the form of currency (it is 871,713 pieces of money the so -called “monetine gold”) and the remaining in the form of ingots – after in 1999 were conferred on the ECB – 141 tons.
