Intesa CEO Carlo Messina Challenges Italy’s New Bank Tax Plan

Messina expressed frustration that the government is moving the goalposts on a deal intended to provide stability for both the state and the banking industry. The proposed measures aim to extract an additional 10.7 billion euros from banks and insurers between 2027 and 2029. This new levy would arrive on top of an existing 12-billion-euro package already slated for collection through 2028.

Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti has defended the policy by citing the financial sector's limited competition and the windfall profits banks have realized from European Central Bank interest rate hikes. He also pointed to state-backed loan guarantees issued during the pandemic as justification for the sector to pay a higher share. Messina rejected this logic, asserting that the burden of supporting households and firms through energy cost crises should be distributed more broadly across the wider economy rather than falling disproportionately on financial institutions.