Speaking at the Rome presentation of the 2026 ASviS report on Italy and the sustainable development goals, Bank of Italy Senior Deputy Governor Paolo Angelini called for stable policies and better information to finance the energy and environmental transition. Finance should support, rather than direct, that transition by selecting projects and pricing risks. Incomplete or poorly comparable information and changing rules increase uncertainty and financing costs. The European Union's Omnibus package, approved in February 2026, would reduce the estimated number of Italian companies subject to the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive from about 8,000 to about 1,000. Regulatory simplification should preserve information needed by lenders and investors and the investments already made to produce it. Green mortgages doubled their share of new mortgage lending in Italy between 2022 and 2024, reaching 12%, but complex classification rules and inconsistent market definitions hinder further development and reliable risk comparisons. Angelini revisited a recently published Bank of Italy paper proposing a simplified green loan definition. The proposal would retain EU Taxonomy alignment while adding an alternative based on building energy performance. A common definition could help establish stronger evidence of lower credit risk, potentially justifying reduced capital requirements and borrowing costs. The issue will be taken forward in European discussions. For corporate lending, engagement and advice were presented as preferable to simply withdrawing from essential industries with high emissions, such as steel and cement. Banks are incorporating companies' current and prospective energy performance into credit assessments. More support is needed for small and medium-sized enterprises, which report greater financing difficulties than larger businesses. Intermediaries could also help structure electricity supply contracts that limit exposure to price shocks while supporting investment in renewable generation.
Bank of Italy's Angelini urges stable rules and better data to support transition finance
Bank of Italy Senior Deputy Governor Paolo Angelini called for stable policies and better sustainability data in a speech on financing the energy and environmental transition. He warned that narrower corporate reporting coverage could weaken information available to lenders and investors. Revisiting an earlier proposal for simpler green loan classification, he linked stronger evidence of lower credit risk to possible capital reductions and confirmed that the issue would enter European discussions.