For the 120th time in history, the ordinary shareholders' meeting of the Bank of Italy is meeting today in the Roman office of Palazzo Koch. A long-standing tradition has it that the meeting takes place on May 31st, but this year it was decided to bring the appointment forward by 24 hours to avoid slipping to Saturday.
The wait for the "Final considerations" by Governor Ignazio Visco, who will begin his speech at 10 am, focuses on four fundamental chapters.
Firstly, the usual Bank of Italy forecasts on the country's economic performance, which will have to clarify the trajectory of the GDP after the disappointment of the first quarter, which closed with a -0,1% cyclical trend.
A double assessment is also expected from Visco in the light of the recent electoral results: on the one hand, an opinion on the economic policies and proposals of the Renzi government, which emerged triumphant from the European elections with its Pd; on the other, a reflection on how Europe should deal with the wave of Euroscepticism that emerged from the polls.
Finally, the Governor's words could suggest something about the intentions of the Governing Council of the ECB, which will meet on June 5 and will probably adopt new unconventional measures to combat the danger of deflation in the Eurozone.
