The banche popolari should also play a proactive role and demonstrate the ability to evolve towards governance arrangements better suited to the demands of stakeholders and the needs of increasingly competitive markets, while maintaining the spirit of “participative democracy” that underlay the original regulatory framework.
This is one way to make it possible to perform the traditional function of the economy even more efficiently, something that is all the more necessary at times of crisis such as the present. 5  International Monetary Fund, “ITALY, Staff Report for the 2008 Art. IV Consultation”, 7 January 2009, p.18; Gutiérrez (2008).