Capital Markets: Perspectives over the Last Decade

Well before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the overall evidence showed that capital markets in Italy were still underdeveloped. In fact, the past decade was characterized by serious weaknesses in the structure and functioning of these markets. The lack of a robust financial infrastructure of capital markets, the need to strengthen the investor base, and flaws in the intermediation structure of capital markets were clear factors of competitive disadvantage for Italy vis-à-vis other European countries. Today, the financial and macroeconomic scenario has dramatically changed. The geopolitical tensions brought about by the Russian-Ukrainian war, the new inflationary scenario and the quantitative tightening of central banks worldwide have put an end to a period of inflated prices on financial assets. The effects on Italian capital markets have been immediate, and rather painful. In this scenario characterized by lights and shadows, Italian capital markets are being presented with an unmissable occasion to become a catalyst for the postpandemic recovery. In this book, the reader can understand the reasons why Italian capital markets have never taken off, and at the same time why the scenario is hopefully changing.