Fifty Years of CONSOB

By Giulio Vesperini

Over the 50 years since its establishment, the Commissione nazionale per le società e la borsa (National Commission for Companies and the Stock Exchange, Consob) has undergone profound changes. In some cases, these changes trod seaparate paths over time, reflecting distinct principles and orientations; in others, they became interwoven in terms of their underlying motivations and objectives. This paper first identifies the main trends that have characterized this evolution and then provides an in-depth analysis of the essential features of the Consob as it stands today. From a comparison between the time of its establishment and today, it can be observed that the changes are both deep and far-reaching. Indeed, they have affected all aspects of Consob’s institutional framework: its foundational regulations; the relationship between national and supranational rules — now increasingly tilted in favor of the latter; Consob itself and the broader public apparatus for regulating and supervising private finance of which it is a part; its institutional aims; the areas under its jurisdiction; its assigned powers; the target audiences of its regulatory actions; and the range of activities subject to its oversight.