Italy to reassure ECB's Lagarde over ownership of central bank gold

ROME, Dec ‌9 (Reuters) - Italy will tell European Central Bank head Christine Lagarde on Tuesday ‍that ‌Rome has no plans to undermine the independence of the country's central bank ⁠by stating that its gold reserves ‌belong to the Italian people, sources said.

Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti intends to send a letter to Lagarde to provide clarification over a legislative proposal on the matter that has triggered criticism ⁠from the ECB, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.

The Bank of Italy holds the world's ​third-largest national gold stockpile, behind the U.S. and Germany. ‌Its 2,452 metric tons of gold are ⁠worth some $300 billion, equivalent to roughly 13% of Italy's national output.

The ECB has twice called on Italian authorities to rethink the draft legislation, an amendment ​to next year's budget, that asserts that the Bank of Italy's gold belongs to the Italian people, despite the ruling coalition having reworded it several times.

The latest version states that the "gold reserves managed and held by the Bank of ​Italy, as ‍recorded on its balance ​sheet, belong to the Italian people," while also including a reference to EU rules protecting central bank independence.

Giorgetti wants to flag to Lagarde that the amendment is not intended to pave the way for transferring the gold or other foreign reserves off the Bank of Italy's balance sheet, the sources said, ruling out a move ⁠that would circumvent the prohibition on central banks financing the public sector.

Nevertheless, the ECB said on Monday the new ​proposal left unclear "what the concrete purpose of the revised draft provision is."

"We are not interested in selling or using the gold in any alternative way. This is a statement of principle on which we do not ‌want to trigger an international affair," Marco Osnato, a lawmaker from Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's Brothers of Italy party, said.

(Reporting by Giuseppe Fonte; Editing by Sharon Singleton)