La disintermediazione delle banche: itinerari normativi ed evoluzione

Abstract

The article traces the regulatory evolution aimed at reducing the centrality of banks within the financial system, a process commonly referred to as bank disintermediation. After a preliminary reference to the digital euro project, particularly in relation to credit provision, the analysis explores the partial openings in the banking monopoly, considering actors such as investment firms (SIM), microcredit institutions, mutual guarantee societies (confidi), insurance companies, electronic money institutions (EMIs), and payment institutions, as well as borderline phenomena such as venture debt and its substantive proximity to venture capital. Attention is then given to lending-based crowdfunding, regulated at the EU level, and to the individual credit portfolio management service, which remains fraught with unresolved regulatory issues. Payment services are also identified as a significant stage in the disintermediation process, especially in light of the PISA framework, which has broadened the very notion of payment. The analysis further considers forms of disintermediation in savings collection, ranging from postal banking services to securitization vehicles and the shadow banking system, the latter being partially regulated under EU law. Within this framework, the article finally addresses the projection of banking into the digital future shaped by FinTech, raising the issue of the limits imposed by the notions of ancillary and instrumental activities, which remain unaddressed in EU legislation but deserve close attention in view of future developments.