Italy parliamentary panel approves 'people's' claim on central bank's gold

By Giuseppe Fonte

ROME, Dec 19 (Reuters) - An Italian parliamentary committee has approved an amendment to next year's budget stating that the gold reserves held by the country's central bank belong to "the people," lawmakers said, ignoring criticism from the European Central Bank.

Since the amendment was presented last month by Giorgia Meloni's right-wing Brothers of Italy party, the ECB has intervened on two occasions to warn that it could undermine the Bank of Italy's independence.

"Gold reserves managed and held by the Bank of Italy, as recorded on its balance sheet, belong to the Italian people," said the text approved on Friday by the budget committee of the upper house of parliament, the Senate.

The proposed legislation, which still needs various approval steps before entering into force, contains wording aimed at clarifying that it does not override European Union rules protecting central bank independence.

The text is, however, broadly in line with the draft criticised by the ECB in its second legal opinion.

Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti said on Monday he and ECB chief Christine Lagarde had resolved the issue last week, on the sidelines of a meeting of euro zone finance ministers in Brussels.

"We believe that the matter can be considered closed," the minister said in parliament.

Meloni's party has justified the initiative by arguing that foreign entities who are among the stakeholders of Italy's central bank should not be able to claim rights over the gold reserves.

An initial, stronger proposal presented to parliament before being reworded by the government, stated that "the gold reserves managed and held by the Bank of Italy belong to the state, on behalf of the Italian people."

The Bank of Italy says on its website it owns the world's third-largest national gold stockpile, behind those of the United States and Germany. Its 2,452 metric tons of gold are worth $300 billion, roughly 13% of Italy's national output.

Giorgetti denied last week any plan to transfer the gold off the Bank of Italy's balance sheet, a move that would circumvent the prohibition on central banks financing the public sector.

He said the amendment was merely aimed at stating "a political principle."

Both houses of parliament are due to approve the budget before the end of the year.