The document

Manoeuvre, ECB warns on bank fees: 'Possible negative effects'

Possible consequences for lending, profits, assets and liquidity

by Rome Editorial Staff

15 December 2025

2' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

Key points

Taxes to banks
Possible negative effects
"Unjustifiably increases political uncertainty about the fiscal framework"

2' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

An in-depth analysis of the"possible negative consequences" that the interventions envisaged in the manoeuvre bill would have on the banking sector. This is what the European Central Bank is calling for in a seven-page document in which it expresses its opinion 'on the taxation of financial institutions'.

The various measures affecting the credit sector are analysed and it is emphasised that the text of the manoeuvre "is not accompanied by any illustrative report explaining its rationale. Moreover, the technical documentation submitted to the Senate regarding the bill contains a summary of the main legislative provisions, but does not provide any explanation of the rationale behind the bill'.

Taxes to the banks

In fact, the government has asked for a contribution from credit and insurance institutions that, as the deputy prime minister Matteo Salvini pointed out at Atreju, 'after three years of good government have tens of billions of euro in profits, so we have done something that the left has never had the strength or freedom to do. We asked for a contribution to help families and workers in difficulty'. Specifically, the intervention includes a 2% increase in IRAP.

Possible negative effects

These measures, the ECB warned, could have consequences for the Italian credit sector in terms of lending, earnings, capital and liquidity. This, 'although credit institutions are still in good financial shape and an initial assessment of the bill's impact suggests that the situation would not change after its adoption'.

For the ECB, moreover, the enfranchisement of extraordinary capital reserves, established in 2023 and for which the manoeuvre provides a special taxation regime, 'will particularly affect less significant institutions, which tend to be more focused on lending, while significant institutions tend to have a larger share of fee-based income'.

However, it goes on to say, 'some intermediaries may now be in a different financial position than in 2023 and this additional burden may pose challenges. As a result of the general application of franking, credit institutions with lower solvency or that are more focused on lending (such as, for example, small banks) or that have challenging capital projections could see their ability to absorb potential downside risks of an economic downturn reduced'.

"Unjustifiably increases political uncertainty about the fiscal framework"

Hence, an analysis would be needed to "illustrate in detail, in particular, the specific impact of franking on the longer-term profitability and capital base of credit institutions, on access to funding and on the granting of new loans".

In conclusion, the ECB emphasised that although it is up to Member States to 'design their own tax systems and distribute the tax burden', introducing 'recurrently ad hoc tax provisionsunjustifiably increases policy uncertainty regarding the tax framework, damaging investor confidence and potentially also affecting the cost of funding for credit institutions'.