Table 1 ,
 Financial figures for PI’s main areas of business ,

Total staff (annual average),151 470,
Regional areas,9,
Branches,140,
Post offices,13 893,

(EUR million),
Total revenue,17 055,6,
Sales and service revenues,15 932,2,

from postal services,5 339,4,
from financial services,4 382,5,
from insurance services,5 993,6,
from other services,216,7,
Other revenue,1 123,3,
Net profit,675,7,

Products and services,volumes (number of items),
Mail (standard, priority, registered, insured, legal documents, other recorded mail),3 522 792 200,
Commercial mail (Postatarget, catalogues, unaddressed mail, etc.),1 887 699 700,
Periodicals (printed, gifts, books etc.),1 216 045 800,
Telegrams, fax, telex,17 442 800,
Express delivery (Poste Italiane and SDA),46 284 600,
Parcels,16 052 000,

Savings books, savings certificates and postal current accounts: total,EUR 282 408 million,
Life assurance policies: policies written,EUR 5 989 million,
Conto BancoPosta: number of current accounts,4 880 000,
Carta Postepay: number of cards issued,2 801 000,
 Table 2 ,
 Stock of postal savings certificates   , by category, in EUR billion ,
    The stock includes certificates issued by CDP and by the Ministry of Finance (the latter ceased to issue savings certificates with effect from 2001).    ,
    This duration refers to equity-linked certificates. For inflation-linked certificates, see footnote 49.    ,
    The Italian authorities indicate that the average life of this category is not quantifiable because these certificates have been issued only since September 2005.    ,

Ordinary,20 years,[7-10] years,121,1,132,2,
Indexed,7 years,[4-7] years ,1,6,3,6,
18-month,18 months,unknown ,1,9,8,3,
Fixed-term,7 years,[4-7 years],48,6,36,2,
Total,,,173,1,180,6,
 Table 3 ,
 Amounts held by Italian households in the form of postal savings instruments and competing products, in EUR billion ,
   Source: ABI   ,

Postal savings certificates,113,160,
State bonds,126,203,
Euro area government bonds,156,160,
Postal savings books,36,60,
Bank savings deposits,69,74,
 Table 4 ,
 Remuneration for savings certificates under the agreements ,
    Business secret.    ,
    […].    ,
    […].    ,
    […].    ,

  Annual commission on the stock of certificates outstanding:    […]    ,  Annual commission on the stock of certificates outstanding:    […]  ,  Annual commission on the stock of certificates outstanding:    […]  ,  Annual commission on the stock of certificates outstanding:    […]   ,  Annual commission on the stock of certificates outstanding:    […]  ,  Annual commission on the stock of certificates outstanding:    […]  ,  Annual commission on the stock of certificates outstanding:    […]  ,
  Commission on the value of new certificates subscribed in the year:    […]  ,  Commission on the value of new certificates subscribed in the year:    […]  ,  Commission on the value of new certificates subscribed in the year:    […]  ,  Commission on the value of new certificates subscribed in the year:    […]  ,  Commission on the value of new certificates subscribed in the year:    […]  ,  Commission on the value of new certificates subscribed in the year:    […]  ,  Commission on the value of new certificates subscribed in the year:    […].  ,
  Other components:    […]   ,  Other components:    […]  ,  Other components:    […]  ,  Other components:    […]  ,  Other components:    […]  ,  Other components:    […]  ,  Other components:    […]  ,
 Table 5 ,
 Yearly remuneration paid to PI, 2000-2006, in EUR million ,

57,243,123,302,381,487,460,
,,,,,13,50,
,,,8,7,29,59,
25,73,60,,,,,
32,170,63,293,374,444,351,
252,196,194,115,101,96,99,
0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,
0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,
130,6,98,2,94,7,46,9,36,5,26,0,20,6,
121,4,98,0,98,9,67,6,64,8,69,6,78,0,
,,,15,16,18,18,
Total fees,309,439,316,431,498,600,577,
 Table 6 ,
 Market fees for a reference sample of structured corporate bonds in the period 2006–2008 and fees applicable to CDP and PI (%) ,
    […].    ,
    […].    ,


Ordinary,remuneration on sum collected,1,35,3,05,[…] ,
Indexed,remuneration on sum collected,1,8,3,45,[…] ,
18-month,remuneration on sum collected,0,48,1,25,[…],
 Table 7 ,
 Financial products and factors affecting distribution fees ,
    CCTs ( certificati di credito del Tesoro ) are seven-year Treasury bonds with a floating interest rate.    ,

BOTs, low , high , low , High , short , institutional , auction , 1 000 ,
BTPs, low to medium , high , low , High , medium to long , institutional , auction , 1 000 ,
CCTs , low , high , low , High , medium , institutional , auction , 1 000 ,
Savings deposits, low , high , low , High , short , retail , on tap , none ,
Time deposits, low , low , low , High , short to medium , retail , on tap , none ,
Deposit certificates (CDs), low , low , low , High , short to medium , retail , on tap , ≥ 50 ,
Listed plain vanilla bank bonds, low to medium , medium , low , High , medium , retail , public offer , ≥ 1 000 ,
Unlisted plain vanilla bank bonds, low to medium , low , low , High , medium , retail , public offer , ≥ 1 000 ,
Listed structured bank bonds, high , medium , high , High , medium , retail , public offer , ≥ 1 000 ,
Unlisted structured bank bonds, high , low , high , High , medium , retail , public offer , ≥ 1 000 ,
Corporate bonds, medium to high , low to medium , low , low to high , medium , institutional , public offer , ≥ 1 000 ,
Money market mutual funds, low , high , medium , Medium , not applicable , retail , on tap , ≥ 100 ,
Bond mutual funds, medium , high , medium , Medium , not applicable , retail , on tap , ≥ 100 ,
Equity mutual funds, high , high , medium , Medium , not applicable , retail , on tap , ≥ 100 ,
Equity (listed), high , medium to high , low , low to high , not applicable , institutional , public offer , ≥ 1 000 ,
 Ordinary postal savings certificates ,  low  ,  medium  ,  low  ,  High  ,  long  ,  retail  ,  on tap  ,  ≥ 50  ,
 Fixed-term postal savings certificates ,  low  ,  medium  ,  low  ,  High  ,  medium  ,  retail  ,  on tap  ,  ≥ 50  ,
 Postal savings certificates indexed at maturity ,  high  ,  medium  ,  high  ,  High  ,  medium  ,  retail  ,  on tap  ,  ≥ 250  ,
 Postal savings certificates, inflation-linked ,  medium  ,  medium  ,  high  ,  High  ,  medium  ,  retail  ,  on tap  ,  ≥ 250  ,
 18-month postal savings certificates ,  low  ,  medium  ,  low  ,  High  ,  short  ,  retail  ,  on tap  ,  ≥ 50  ,
 Table 8 ,
 Overall estimated upfront fees for postal savings certificates (%) ,


[…],[…],
[…],[…],
[…],[…],
[…],[…],
[…],[…],
[…],[…],
[…],[…],


[…],[…],
[…],[…],
[…],[…],
 Table 9 ,
 Recalculated upfront fees received by PI for postal savings certificates ,
    These figures do not include the sums of EUR 51,6 million and EUR 25 million paid in 2001 and 2002 respectively for specific tasks having a scope beyond the mere distribution of postal savings certificates. However, the expert carried out a sensitivity check, and concluded that their inclusion would not affect the findings of the report.    ,


[…],[…],[…],[…],[…],[…],[…],
[…],[…],[…],,,,,
,,,,,[…],[…],

,,,[…],[…],[…],[…],
,,,[…],[…],[…],[…],
,,,,,,[…],
,,,,,[…],[…],
 Table 10 ,
 Recalculated upfront fee and estimated market remuneration for postal savings certificates based on the sample of bank bonds (%) ,
    It is important to note that the regression analysis on the sample of both structured bank bonds has an explanatory value significantly lower than in the case of other bank bonds used to estimate the remuneration for the distribution of other categories of postal savings certificate. In this regard, the expert pointed out that in the case of index-linked certificates the results of the simulation appeared difficult to reconcile with fundamental economic mechanisms: it was not apparent why index-linked certificates should command fees so much lower than the average obtained in the equity-linked bank bonds subsample. This point, coupled with the evidence about the low explanatory power of the regressions for the fees of indexed certificates, suggested in the expert’s opinion that more weight should be given in this case to the result of the simple comparison of average values, which gave a more decisive indication of market conformity. The descriptive statistics indicate that the average remuneration is 3,10 % for equity-linked bank bonds and – 2,82 % for inflation-linked bank bonds. Both values are above the maximum remuneration received by PI for index-linked and inflation-linked postal savings certificates.    ,


Minimum fee for postal savings certificates 2000-2006,[…],[…],[…],[…],[…],[…],[…],
Maximum fee for postal savings certificates 2000–2006,[…],[…],[…],[…],[…],[…],[…],
expected value — lowest estimate,3,05,3,05,1,76,1,69,2,83,0,63,0,63,
exp. value + 1 std. dev.,3,4,3,4,2,11,2,51,2,14,0,88,0,92,
exp. value + 2 std. dev.,3,75,3,75,2,46,3,32,4,2,1,21,1,21,
expected value — highest estimate,4,54,4,54,3,34,1,69,2,83,0,63,0,63,
exp. value + 1 std. dev.,5,25,5,25,4,05,2,51,3,51,0,92,0,92,
exp. value + 2 std. dev.,5,96,5,96,4,76,3,32,4,2,1,21,1,21,
 Table 11 ,
 Estimated remuneration of distributor for postal savings certificates ,


3,6 %,3,23 %,
3,06 %,2,65 %,
2,95 %,2,98 %,
2,62 %,2,53 %,
2,25 %,2,73 %,
1,44 %,2,45 %,

2,75 %,1,91 %,
2,21 %,1,33 %,
2,1 %,1,66 %,
1,77 %,1,21 %,
1,4 %,1,41 %,
0,59 %,1,13 %,
 Table 12 ,
 Recalculated upfront fees and estimated yearly market remuneration for postal savings certificates based on the sample of mutual funds ,



2000,[…],1,48 %,3,41 %,
2001,[…],1,48 %,3,41 %,
2002,[…],2,13 %,4,06 %,
2003,[…],2,45 %,4,38 %,
2004,[…],2,55 %,4,48 %,
2005,[…],3,38 %,5,31 %,
2006,[…],3,38 %,5,31 %,



2000,[…],1,15 %,3,08 %,
2001,[…],1,15 %,2,8 %,
2002,[…],1,65 %,3,3 %,
 Table 13 ,
 Actual and estimated remuneration for postal savings certificates, in absolute figures ,


361,217,426,
439,235,459,
316,355,596,
416,457,721,
482,519,803,
582,762,1 062,
559,820,1 139,
Total 2000-2006,3 157,3 364,5 207,
 Table 14 ,
 The comparators identified by the three studies ,
    Very little public data is available, since the issuers are not obliged to disclose the fees paid for the distribution of CDs, and this comparator has not been used extensively in the expert study.    ,

Ordinary postal savings certificates,Structured corporate bonds with a rating of at least BBB (S&P’s) or Baa2 (Moody’s),BTPs of similar maturity,Bank-issued plain vanilla bonds (fixed-rate and floating-rate),
Fixed-term postal savings certificates,Structured corporate bonds with a rating of at least BBB (S&P’s) or Baa2 (Moody’s),BOTs, CTZs and BTPs depending on the residual life of the postal savings certificate,Bank-issued plain vanilla bonds,
Indexed postal savings certificates (inflation-linked and equity-linked),Structured corporate bonds with a rating of at least BBB (S&P’s) or Baa2 (Moody’s),For inflation-linked certificates: BTPEUR i indexed; for equity-linked certificates: index-linked financial bonds with a rating of at least A+ (S&P’s) or Aa2 (Moody’s).,Bank-issued indexed bonds (equity-linked or inflation-linked as the case may be),
18-month postal savings certificates,Structured corporate bonds with a rating of at least A– (S&P’s) or A3 (Moody’s),Short-term BOTs and CTZs,Deposit certificates (CDs) , with useful indications provided by shorter-maturity fixed-interest bank bonds, and money-market mutual funds,
Comments on other comparators,Italy considers postal savings certificates to be comparable to mutual funds investing in euro area government bonds,ABI considered initially that postal savings certificates were comparable to mutual funds investing in euro area government bonds. In the ABI study, however, comparability between postal savings certificates and mutual funds is no longer mentioned.,Useful indications for the determination of the market level of the remuneration for the distribution of postal savings certificates (except for indexed certificates) might be provided by the observation of the remuneration for the most closely comparable types of mutual funds, notably money-market mutual funds.,
 Table 15 ,
 period of subscription of the various types of postal savings certificate ,

Ordinary,2003-2006,2000-2006,
Fixed-term,Not available for subscription,2000-2002,
18-month,2005-2006,2005-2006,
Indexed: equity-linked,2003-2006,Not available for subscription,
Indexed: inflation-linked,2006,Not available for subscription,