A significant reorganization of the regulatory provisions
applicable to Italian investment firms (SIMs) is in the process of
being implemented. Under a decree, dated August 4, issued by the
governor of the Bank of Italy a unified text of rules has been
approved to govern SIMs. The new regulation ties together EU and
national regulatory provisions on investment firms, taking into
consideration their most up-to-date operational requirements.
This legislative reform constitutes the implementation of
various provisions set forth in the consolidated law on financial
intermediation (Lgs D No. 58, February 24 1998) and comprises a
unified text including all regulatory provisions regarding
investment firms which have been enacted since 1991.
The new set of rules will enter into force as of January 1 2001
(except for specific provisions for which different effective dates
have been provided) and is divided in four main sections
comprising: (i) definitions; (ii) the incorporation of SIMs and
cross-border operations; (iii) supervision (which includes capital
adequacy and risk-weighting provisions); and (iv) financial
statements.
Prudential rules for limiting and spreading the risk and rules
on drafting of financial statements have been amended in order to
increase the operational abilities of financial intermediaries and
to increase the level of transparency on accounting documents,
respectively.