On 2 July 2015, the Italian Parliament approved a delegation to the Government to issue a legislative decree to transpose the Bank Recovery and Resolution Directive (BRRD).

The decree will ensure that Italy transposes the requirements of the BRRD including those relating to bail-in, which shall be applicable from 1 January 2016. It also provides for the Bank of Italy to be designated as the national resolution authority and be granted the power to adopt regulatory measures to implement the new legislation and apply sanctions for breaches of relevant obligations. Where appropriate the Bank of Italy may also be delegated to exercise those options granted to Member States under the BRRD in respect of restructuring and resolution planning. Interestingly, Italy has opted out of requiring ex ante judicial approval of decisions relating to a crisis prevention measure or a crisis management measure. It has also decided to keep its existing administrative liquidation procedure known as liquidazione coatta amministrativa (i.e. the special bankruptcy proceeding applicable to banks and financial institutions (to be coordinated with the new resolution mechanisms)).

The Bank of Italy has also published a Q&A document, providing an overview of the rules contained into the BRRD and describing the new procedures and their impacts on investors and account holders.

View: Che cosa cambia nella gestione delle crisi bancarie  8 July 2015 (in Italian).