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Italy to reassure ECB's Lagarde over ownership of central bank gold
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on December 9, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 20, 2026
Global Banking & Finance Review®
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Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on December 9, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 20, 2026
Italy reassures ECB's Lagarde that its central bank gold reserves belong to the Italian people, maintaining independence amid legislative proposals.
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)
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 financial system.
Gold reserves are the amount of gold held by a country's central bank, which can be used to back its currency and stabilize the economy during financial crises.
Legislation is a law or a set of laws enacted by a governing body, which can regulate various aspects of society, including financial systems and institutions.
A legislative proposal is a formal suggestion for new legislation or amendments to existing laws, presented for debate and approval by a legislative body.
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