Interconnectedness in the Italian financial sector: a multilayer network analysis

Valentina Michelangeli (), Silvia Sacco (), Valentino Bado (), Valeria De Chiara (), Ginette Eramo (), Francesco Ficarola (), Irene Mavilia (), Claudia Miani (), Ivan Quaglia (), Giuseppe Reale (), Francesco Sciarretta (), Riccardo Scimone () and Laura Sigalotti ()
Additional contact information
Valentina Michelangeli: Bank of Italy
Silvia Sacco: IVASS
Valentino Bado: Bank of Italy
Valeria De Chiara: Bank of Italy
Ginette Eramo: Bank of Italy
Francesco Ficarola: IVASS
Irene Mavilia: Bank of Italy
Claudia Miani: Bank of Italy
Ivan Quaglia: Bank of Italy
Giuseppe Reale: Bank of Italy
Francesco Sciarretta: IVASS
Riccardo Scimone: Bank of Italy
Laura Sigalotti: Bank of Italy

No 1049, Questioni di Economia e Finanza (Occasional Papers) from Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area

Abstract: We analyse the structure and evolution of the Italian financial system over the period 2019-2025 using a multilayer network framework that captures interconnections across financial institutions and instruments. The network has a bank-centred core, with insurance companies acting as intermediate connectors and investment funds forming a broad periphery. Although the overall number of institutions remains broadly stable, sectoral dynamics diverge, as consolidations among banks and insurers are offset by the expansion of the investment fund sector. While individual layers have distinct topological characteristics, cross-sector linkages account for a growing share of total connections, underscoring their increasing role in shock transmission. Despite its sparse structure, the network exhibits small-world properties, implying a rapid contagion potential. Consolidation episodes are associated with temporary but meaningful structural shifts, while the network's overall architecture remains remarkably stable over time.

Keywords: banks; insurers; investment funds; interconnections; network analysis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: G18 G21 G22 G23 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026-07
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.bancaditalia.it/pubblicazioni/qef/2026-1049/QEF_1049_26.pdf (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:bdi:opques:qef_1049_26

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in Questioni di Economia e Finanza (Occasional Papers) from Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by ().