LBS alumnus Fabio Panetta to be Bank of Italy governor

London Business School alumnus Dr Fabio Panetta (Ph.D in Economics and Finance, London Business School, 1997) has been selected by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s government to be the next Bank of Italy governor.

Dr Panetta was Senior Deputy Governor of the Bank of Italy from May 2019 to the end of December 2019. He was President of the Insurance Supervisory Authority (IVASS) from May 2019 to the end of December 2019, and a Member of the Board of Directors of the Bank for International Settlements from 2016 to 2018. He was the Governor's alternate on the Board and he was an alternate member of the Group of Seven (G7) and of the Group of Twenty (G20).

He was a member of the Supervisory Board of the Single Supervisory Mechanism at the European Central Bank (ECB) from 2014 to July 2019 and a Member of the Board of Directors of the International Center for Monetary and Banking Studies (ICMB) in Geneva and of the Governing Council of the Einaudi Institute for Economics and Finance (EIEF).

He was awarded the honorary title of Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Italy (2019).

From 2004 to 2012 he took part in ECB Governing Council meetings as an Accompanying Person for Governor Antonio Fazio and Governor Mario Draghi. From 2012 to September 2016 he was the Governor's alternate on the ECB Governing Council.

He was a Member of the Committee on the Global Financial System from 2003 to January 2019.

After graduating with honours in Economics from LUISS University (Rome) in 1982, he obtained an M.Sc. in Economics from the London School of Economics and a Ph.D in Economics and Finance from the London Business School, a time which he recalled fondly when he gave a keynote speech at a ECB event held in London at the end of last year.

He joined the Bank of Italy's Research Department in 1985, becoming head of its Monetary and Financial Division in 1999. From 2007 to 2011 he headed the Economic Outlook and Monetary Policy Department. In July 2011, he became Managing Director with the task of coordinating the Bank's activities relating to the Eurosystem and to financial stability. From 2010 to 2012, he chaired the editorial committee of the Bank of Italy's Financial Stability Report.

He was Deputy Governor of the Bank of Italy from October 2012 to early May 2019. He is a Member of the Joint Directorate of the Insurance Supervisory Authority (IVASS) from 1 January 2013.

He has represented the Bank at various international organisations, including the OECD, the G10, the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund. He has chaired international working groups within the G10, the BIS and other international institutions.

He has taught university courses in Economics and Finance. His research has been published in international scientific journals, including The American Economic Review; The Journal of Finance; Journal of Money, Credit and Banking; European Economic Review; Journal of Banking and Finance; Economic Notes; and Il Giornale degli Economisti.

He is the author of Il sistema bancario italiano negli anni novanta: gli effetti di una trasformazione (Il Mulino, 2004) and Il sistema finanziario e il Mezzogiorno. Squilibri reali e divari finanziari (Cacucci, 2006) with L. Cannari.

He is a member of the Società Italiana degli Economisti, the American Finance Association and the American Economic Association. In 2006 he was awarded the 'Premio Giornalistico Internazionale Santa Margherita Ligure per l'Economia' as the best writer on economics.

The head of state, Sergio Mattarella, will need to approve the selection before Panetta can take up his role once present incumbent Ignazio Visco’s second and final term comes to a close at the end of October.

Commenting on Dr Panetta’s appointment, Lucrezia Reichlin, Professor of Economics at London Business School, said: “Fabio is a very seasoned central banker who has showed leadership and judgement during difficult times. He is a great and distinguished member of LBS’s alumni community.”

LBS's Professor Richard Portes added his thoughts with the following comments: "Fabio Panetta could have been a top academic. Instead, to the social good, he became a top central banker. He is very smart, with a wide-ranging, very balanced perspective. Most recently, he has been leading the European Central Bank work on digital currency and has developed a well considered position on crypto-currency. Fabio will be an articulate and influential force in his new role as Bank of Italy governor."