Published by Global Banking and Finance Review
Posted on December 11, 2025
1 min readLast updated: January 20, 2026
Published by Global Banking and Finance Review
Posted on December 11, 2025
1 min readLast updated: January 20, 2026
Italy and ECB resolve a dispute over Bank of Italy's gold reserves, ensuring central bank independence, as confirmed by Treasury sources.
ROME, Dec 11 (Reuters) - Italy has resolved differences with the European Central Bank over a draft budget amendment on the ownership of the Bank of Italy's gold reserves, Italian Treasury sources said on Thursday.
The amendment, sponsored by members of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's right-wing party, had raised concerns from the ECB, which said it posed risks regarding the Italian central bank's independence.
Italian Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti and ECB President Christine Lagarde resolved the issue on the sidelines of a meeting of euro zone finance ministers in Brussels, the sources said, without giving details.
The ECB was not immediately available to comment.
The ECB had twice urged Italy's ruling coalition to reconsider an amendment to the 2026 budget law stating that the gold held by the Bank of Italy belongs to "the Italian people".
(Reporting by Giuseppe Fonte, writing by Alvise Armellini, editing by Gavin Jones)
The European Central Bank (ECB) is the central bank for the euro and administers monetary policy within the Eurozone, aiming to maintain price stability and oversee the banking system.
A budget amendment is a formal change or adjustment made to a proposed budget, often requiring approval from legislative bodies.
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