Bank failures: 1.35 billion in compensation for savers. Court of Auditors: more targeted planning
By the end of 2023, 134,000 applications had been approved. 59.3 per cent of the funds disbursed went to the Veneto region. The Court of Auditors: ensure that new applications are processed as quickly as possible
Key points
The Savers’ Compensation Fund (FIR) must ensure more accurate financial planning and the processing of new claims ‘as quickly as possible’. This requirement was laid down by the Court of Auditors, which approved the report on the Fund established by the 2019 Budget Act, with a total budget of €1.6 billion for the three-year period 2019–2021.
How the FIR works
Administered by the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF), the FIR is designed to compensate savers, their family members and their heirs, who hold shares or subordinated bonds, and who have suffered unjust harm as a result of widespread breaches of the obligations of disclosure, due diligence, fairness, objective good faith and transparency by certain credit institutions, with their registered offices in Italia, which were subject to compulsory administrative liquidation between 16 November 2015 and 1 January 2018. The preliminary investigation has reviewed the fund’s implementation status, highlighting the results of the initiative and the key accounting and financial aspects requiring attention.
134,000 applications approved by the end of 2023
As at 31 December 2023, over 134,000 applications had been approved, amounting to a total of approximately 1.354 billion euros; further compensation payments were subsequently made, bringing the total to approximately 1.355 billion euros. Approximately 59.3 per cent of the funds disbursed were allocated to the Veneto region, whilst the applications were examined by a Technical Commission, with operational support from Consap. The Court of Auditors’ analysis highlighted the build-up of unspent funds and an overestimation of the resources required for the Commission’s operations, ‘factors which necessitate more accurate financial planning’.
The integrated funding of 80 million
The report then refers to the top-up to the Fund’s allocation, provided for in the 2026 Budget Act, which authorises maximum expenditure of 80 million euros (20 million in 2026 and 30 million for each of the years 2027–2028), for savers whose applications had been rejected due to incomplete documentation or procedural shortcomings. With a view to the implementation of the measure, the Court has recommended that the administration, subject to verification of the statutory requirements, ensure that new applications are processed as quickly as possible, not least to prevent further unspent balances from accumulating in the relevant expenditure chapter. Finally, a more accurate estimate of the appropriations allocated to the Technical Commission was requested, with a view to ensuring that financial planning is consistent with actual requirements.
