Italy, the third largest economy of the Eurozone, is progressively, although very slowly, recovering from the debt and financial crisis. The pace of the recovery has gained some momentum recently (0.9% in 2016, 1% in 2017 and 0.8% in 2018 according to OECD), benefiting from the growth-oriented measures adopted by the government (tax cuts, support to public investment, social contribution exemption to support employment growth etc.) and from the highly accommodating monetary policy stance followed by the ECB, which will further ease financial and monetary conditions. Some progresses are noticeable as unemployment (11% in July 2017). Modest growth should continue going forward.
The Italian productive sector is characterised by family companies, which are true flag bearers of Italian know-how, often grouped into "industrial districts". However, most Italian firms are small and suffer from weak productivity. Investment is structurally low and Italy's integration in global value chains remains limited.
As a result of these factors, the recovery path from the crisis is still long. Output is still below pre-crisis levels, while the Eurozone as a whole has now closed the gap (0.8% above). A decade after the crisis, real disposable income per capita remains below pre-euro accession levels. The crisis is not at the root of all the problems in the Italian economy, which is widely seen as a low-potential-growth economy with structural weaknesses. Several restrictions on both labour and production and the huge level of public debt are weighing on productivity, investment and activity growth. An imperfect match of the skills of the working population to market need and low R&D spending also penalise growth.
The government, however, has launched several structural and institutional reforms that aim to address these various weaknesses and boost output in the medium-to-longer term, but this process will take time to bear fruit. Against this background, public finances are recovering slowly. The country exited the European excessive deficit procedure early in 2012, but improvement has been limited since then, with fiscal deficit still at 2.4% of GDP in 2017. The public debt ratio is stabilising at just over the high level of 132% of GDP.
Italy is one of BNP Paribas' 'home' markets, with comprehensive capabilities for all customer segments. BNP Paribas is a leading player in corporate banking in Italy, and employs more than 70 people specifically dedicated to cash management services as well as a complete service offering in trade finance across 17 business centres and 5 trade centres. Corporate customers include Italian companies of all sizes, together with Italian subsidiaries of foreign companies. These organisations are attracted to the bank's strong balance sheet, depth of domestic and international products and services, including proximity services across Italy, international footprint and commitment to service quality.
Italy is one of BNP Paribas' 'home' markets, with comprehensive capabilities for all customer segments. BNP Paribas is a leading player in corporate banking in Italy, and employs more than 70 people specifically dedicated to cash management services as well as a complete service offering in trade finance across 17 business centres and 5 trade centres. Corporate customers include Italian companies of all sizes, together with Italian subsidiaries of foreign companies. These organisations are attracted to the bank's strong balance sheet, depth of domestic and international products and services, including proximity services across Italy, international footprint and commitment to service quality.
| Inside Italy | Outside Eurozone | |
| Local Currency | Permitted without restriction, fully convertible. | Permitted without restriction, fully convertible. |
| Foreign Currency | Permitted without restriction, fully convertible. | Permitted without restriction, fully convertible. |
| Inside Italy | Outside Eurozone | |
| Local Currency | Permitted without restriction, fully convertible. | Permitted without restriction, fully convertible. |
| Foreign Currency | Permitted without restriction, fully convertible. |
|
Cross-border notional cash pools are not usually based in Italy because of the restrictions on banks offsetting credit and debit balances.
Cross-border cash concentration structures are not normally based in Italy.
Residents in Italy are able to sweep cash from their resident bank accounts into non-resident accounts on a daily or weekly basis.
Italian resident entities are also permitted to participate in cash concentration structures where the header account is located outside Italy.
|
Imports |
Engineering products
|
Chemicals |
Transport equipment |
Energy products |
Minerals and non-ferrous metals |
Textiles and clothing |
Food |
Beverages |
Tobacco |
|
|
Primary Import sources |
Germany (16.3%) |
France (8.9%) |
China (7.5%) |
Netherlands (5.5%) |
Spain (5.3%) |
Belgium (4.9%) |
|
|
|
|
|
Exports |
Engineering products |
Textiles and clothing |
Production machinery |
Motor vehicles |
Transport equipment |
Chemicals |
Food |
Beverages |
Tobacco |
Minerals and non-ferrous metals |
|
Export markets |
Germany (12.6%) |
France (10.5%) |
USA (8.9%) |
UK (5.4%) |
Spain (5%) |
Switzerland (4.6%) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
2013 |
2014 |
2015 |
2016 |
2017 |
|
|
Exports |
- goods USD m |
503,486 |
517,128 |
450,174 |
453,614 |
496,282 |
|
|
- services USD m |
111,988 |
113,987 |
98,278 |
100,840 |
110,985 |
|
Imports |
- goods USD m |
455,485 |
454,602 |
393,595 |
389,794 |
432,977 |
|
|
- services USD m |
111,442 |
115,337 |
101,205 |
103,958 |
115,229 |
|
Current account as % GDP |
+ 0.9 |
+ 1.8 |
+ 1.5 |
+ 2.6 |
+ 2.8 |
|
Source: IMF, International Financial Statistics, July 2018.
