A recent amendment to the Italian Supervisory Instruction for Banks (Diposizioni di vigilanza prudenziale per le banche), which will become effective on 29 April 2013, has increased the minimum capital requirements to carry out banking activities in Italy up to:
- Euro 10 million (previously Euro 6,3 million) for banks incorporated as joint stock company, banche popolari and banche confidi;
- Euro 5 million (previously Euro 2 million) for cooperative banks (“banche di credito cooperativo”).
Should the initial capital include also contributions in kind, the relevant amount shall not exceed 3/10 of the entire capital of the banks. Such limit does not apply to contributions in kind made within the same banking group.
The duty to comply with the increased minimum capital requirement applies to newly established banks including those for which the authorization process is pending at the date of entry into force of the new provisions and to banks already established and authorized which are requested to adjust their capital to the new minimum capital requirements within 36 months from the date of entry into force of the new provisions.
In order to comply with the new regulations, a bank under process of incorporation with a capital lower than the above minimum requirement may:
- amend the by-laws by increasing the bank’s share capital and pay-in the necessary amounts;
- deposit such amounts as reserve having the features requested to qualify as core capital (“patrimonio di base”) which together with the share capital falls with the definition of the initial capital (“capitale iniziale”) under the Italian Supervisory Instruction for Banks as amended.
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