The ABI’s ‘knight’s move’: it is using the Tremonti consultancy against the government

If we wished, we could use the traditional ‘knight’s move’ metaphor. The situation is as follows: the ABI, the banking association, is in a difficult position following the Meloni government’s decision to impose new charges on credit institutions totalling 3.8 billion in 2027 and 7 billion in total over the three-year period. It wishes to oppose this partly because all its member banks have viewed the decision from Palazzo Chigi as a smokescreen. The difficulty lies in the fact that, around what appeared to be a straightforward budget, conflicts and acrimony are mounting, cutting across the majority and even within individual parties, shaking it to its core. Consequently, it is a struggle for the ABI even to place the issue of the compulsory levy at the top of the political agenda, not least because, in this instance, it has lost the support of Forza Italia, which in the past had fought openly to protect Mediolanum but this time has chosen to sit out the battle.

However, President Antonio Patuelli is a man of brilliant wit and intends to put up a fierce fight. Hence the masterstroke revealed by Il Sole 24 Ore: to engage the Tremonti firm as tax advisers in order to support the ABI’s opposition before Parliament. Among the ranks of the majority supporting the compulsory levy sits the FdI MP who founded that firm and remains a senior partner there to this day. Namely Giulio Tremonti, former Minister for the Economy and currently Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee and a member of the Finance Committee.

The Tremonti firm was founded in 1985. Initially, it was called “Tremonti, Romagnoli, Piccardi e Associati” and, in 2025, it underwent a rebrand (“Tremonti Partners”). As mentioned, the great Giulio is merely a senior partner, and the governance of the firm (50 professionals) is entrusted to an executive committee of which he is not a member. However, the name has remained, and the former minister will probably find himself having to vote in Parliament ‘against’ the advice given by his firm when the budget is approved. At the ABI, they do not want to hear any talk of a ‘knight’s move’. “Choosing the Tremonti firm was a natural decision; it is already the leading adviser to several major banks. It is the most authoritative and comprehensive. If it works, why look for another one?” But doesn’t this risk creating a political controversy? “Not at all,” they reply. “It is a legal matter; if a proposed new regulation does not hold water, it will fail regardless of political will.”

Moreover, President Patuelli has retained a constitutional consultancy firm to prepare the ABI for a crucial parliamentary hearing, again opting for the firm led by Professor Valerio Morbidelli. However, as life is full of unexpected twists, do you know why the name ‘Morbidelli’ will go down in the annals of banking history? Because, thanks to its advice, the Foundations won their legal battle against the government of the time – with Giulio Tremonti as Minister of the Treasury and Finance – through two rulings by the Constitutional Court. At the time, it was said that the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) wanted (through Article 11 of the Finance Bill) to place the Foundations’ statutory bodies under state control, but the Constitutional Court, in rulings 300 and 301 of 2003, ruled in favour of the president of ACRI, Giuseppe Guzzetti. He, like Patuelli today, had seen fit to engage the Morbidelli firm. Newspapers ran headlines such as “Guzzetti beats Tremonti” and highlighted the significance of the ruling, which, among other things, explained why the foundations could not be used as a cash cow for local politics (as the Northern League would have liked).

Today, the prestigious brands of Tremonti and Morbidelli are on the same side of the fence, whereas twenty years ago they were at odds. “Having enlisted the best minds in tax and constitutional law, dear President, are you more confident about the final outcome of our battle?” a banker from the north asked Patuelli yesterday. “‘I have faith’ was Luigi Facta’s nickname, and that’s why I stopped using the phrase when I was a boy. It’s a terrible omen,” was the reply he received.