And in that same period, the Bank of Italy was laying the foundations of a “new system” that would shift over to indirect monetary controls and open market operations. The compulsory reserve regime was radically revised, the method for issuing Treasury bills was reformed to admit the Bank’s participation at auctions and enhance its ability to affect the interest rate.
In 1981, while Tommaso was serving with the European Commission, an epoch-making regime shift took place, to which he had contributed directly and indirectly: the so-called “divorce” between the Bank of Italy and the Treasury. The Bank ceased to act as residual buyer at Treasury bill auctions, the fundamental first step towards full independence for the Bank’s monetary policy decisions.