ABSTRACT
In the course of 1994, first with the Carlo Azeglio Ciampi government and later with the Silvio Berlusconi government, a complex set of legislation was almost completed. As a necessary but not sufficient condition, this legislation could allow a rapid course of privatization of banks and public enterprises in Italy. The privatizations of Banca Commerciale Italiana and Credito Italiano merit particular attention. In light of the actions and attitudes of the Berlusconi government, Italy's support of Europe, which strongly induced the Giuliano Amato and Ciampi governments to remove many obstacles to the privatization of the banking system, must be appreciated even more. The fact that in the course of 1994 the last legislative barriers to privatization of the savings banks fell favors the evolution toward the formation of a few grand banking alliances. This chapter explores how in Italy the problem of privatizations goes hand in hand with the problem of competition.
