Bank of Italy, in collaboration with the Arab Regional Payments Clearing and Settlement Organization (ARPSCO), has published the results of a joint experiment focusing on the settlement of instant cross-currency payments – i.e. payments in which the debtor and creditor accounts are denominated in different currencies – between two different technical platforms.

TIPS and Buna are the instant payment settlement platforms with multi-currency features operated by the two organizations respectively. Both platforms started with an initial investigative phase, in order to assess operational policies and the legal and technical implications of implementing a cross‑currency instant payment settlement service, i.e. one in which the debtor and creditor accounts are denominated in two different currencies both eligible for settlement on the platform.

In line with building blocks 13 and 17 of the G20 global roadmap for enhancing cross-border payments (concerning the interlinking of payment systems), the natural evolution of these investigations was to explore possible options for providing the same type of cross-currency service in a cross-platform scenario, i.e. through the interoperability of different instant payment platforms.

(Only in Italian)

Pubblicato in Gazzetta Ufficiale del 15 marzo 2022 il Decreto del Ministero dell’Economia e delle Finanze del 13 gennaio 2022 n. 19, Regolamento recante modifiche al decreto 5 marzo 2015, n. 30, attuativo dell’articolo 39 del decreto legislativo 24 febbraio 1998, n. 58 (TUF), concernente la determinazione dei criteri generali cui devono uniformarsi gli Organismi di investimento collettivi del risparmio (OICR) italiani.

Il provvedimento entra in vigore il 30 marzo 2022.

The Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council, body of the Council of the European Union, adopted a general approach on an EU directive aiming to strengthen gender equality on corporate boards.

The directive aims to set a quantitative target for the proportion of members of the under-represented sex on the boards of listed companies. Companies would thus have to take steps to reach, by 2027, the minimum target of having 40% of non-executive director positions held by members of the under-represented sex, or 33% if all board members are included. Companies that fail to reach these targets would have to apply clear, unambiguous and neutrally formulated criteria when appointing or electing directors.

Member states will also have to ensure that companies give priority to candidates of the under-represented sex when choosing between candidates who are equally qualified in terms of suitability, competence and professional performance.

Today’s agreement paves the way for negotiations between the Council and the European Parliament with a view to agreeing a common position.