Ignazio Visco

Not to be confused with Vincenzo Visco.

Ignazio Visco OMRI (Italian pronunciation: [iɲˈɲattsjo ˈvisko]; born 21 November 1949) is an Italian economist and central banker and Governor of the Bank of Italy from 2011 to 2023.^[1][2]

Ignazio Visco OMRI
Governor of the Bank of Italy
In office 1 November 2011 – 31 October 2023
Preceded by	Mario Draghi
Succeeded by	Fabio Panetta
Deputy Director General of the Bank of Italy
In office 9 January 2007 – 1 November 2011
Governor	Mario Draghi
Preceded by	Pierluigi Ciocca
Succeeded by	Salvatore Rossi
Personal details
Born	(1949-11-21) 21 November 1949 (age 75) Naples, Italy
Education	Sapienza University University of Pennsylvania

Early life and education

Visco was born in Naples on 21 November 1949.^[3] He obtained a summa cum laude degree in economics from the Sapienza University of Rome^[3] in 1971 with Federico Caffè as supervisor and continued his studies at the University of Pennsylvania (Economics Department), where he obtained an MA in 1974 and a PhD in Economics in 1981.^[3]

Career

In 1972, Visco began his career at the Bank of Italy and in 1990 he was named head of the research department; from 1997 to 2002 he was chief economist of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and on 9 January 2007 he was named deputy director-general of the Bank of Italy (alongside Giovanni Carosio) and a member of its Direttorio (Board of Directors).^[4]

On 24 October 2011, Visco was named to succeed Mario Draghi as governor of the Bank of Italy by Italian President Giorgio Napolitano.^[2][5]

Starting from 1 January 2013, in accordance with Legislative Decree 95/12 (converted into law, with modifications, from Law no.135/2012), he also holds the position of chairman of the joint governing board of the Italian Insurance Supervisory Authority (IVASS).^{[citation needed]}

On 28 January 2015,^[6] Visco was placed under investigation by the Prosecutor of Spoleto as part a probe into the special administration of Banca Popolare di Spoleto.^[7] In September 2016, the case was definitively dropped by a judge, upholding the prosecutor's request.^[8]

During his time in office, Visco came under fire for failing to effectively tackle Italy's banking woes. In October 2017, the country's ruling centre-left Democratic Party submitted a motion in Parliament calling for new leadership at the Bank of Italy, casting doubt on Visco's chances of being reappointed to a second term.^[9] Following a proposal made by Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni and his cabinet to renominate Visco and the endorsement of the Bank of Italy's high council, President Sergio Mattarella signed a decree to reappoint Visco for a second six-year term.^[10][11][12]

Other activities

European Union institutions

• European Systemic Risk Board (ESRB), Ex-Officio Member^[13]

International organizations

• Asian Development Bank, ex-officio member of the Board of Governors
• Bank for International Settlements, ex-officio member of the Board of Directors
• Financial Stability Board, ex-officio member of the steering committee
• Inter-American Development Bank, alternate member of the Board of Governors
• International Monetary Fund (IMF), alternate member of the Board of Governors
• American Economic Association, member
• Joint World Bank-IMF Development Committee, member^[14]
• World Bank, ex-officio member of the Board of Governors^[15]

Non-profit organizations

• Osservatorio Permanente Giovani-Editori, Member of the International Advisory Board^[16]

Works

• Price Expectations in Rising Inflation, North Holland, 1984. ISBN 978-0-444-86836-7.
• Le aspettative nell'analisi economica, Il Mulino, 1985
• Inflazione, concorrenza e sviluppo (with Stefano Micossi), Il Mulino, 1993. ISBN 978-88-15-03866-1.
• Saving and the Accumulation of Wealth (with Albert Ando and Luigi Guiso), Cambridge University Press, 1994
• L'economia italiana (with Federico L. Signorini), Il Mulino, 2002
• Ageing and Pension System Reform (as Chairman of the G-10 Working Group), 2005 (PDF)
• Investire in conoscenza, Il Mulino, 2009

Awards and honors

	Knight of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic – awarded on 2 June 1991[17]
	Officer of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic – awarded on 27 December 1993[17]
	Commander of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic – awarded on 2 June 2002[17]
	Grand Officer of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic – awarded on 2 June 2007[17]
	Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic – awarded on 25 October 2011[17]

See also

• Governor of the Bank of Italy