23 Marzo 2012

Italian version

The  Italian Government, today, on a proposal by  Economy Minister Mario Monti, appointed Vincenzo La Via as Director General of the Italian Treasury.  Mr La Via was appointed in 2005 as the first World Bank Chief Financial Officer (CFO). As part of the Senior management team, he oversaw the Vice Presidencies responsible for Corporate Finance & Risk Management, Treasury, Controller’s, Concessional Finance & Global Partnerships, and the World Bank Group Chief Risk Officer, as well as the General Services Department. He also chaired the World Bank’s Finance Committee and its Pension Committee.

Mr La Via was responsible for the development and implementation of sound and effective financial policies to ensure the World Bank’s financial integrity, budget discipline, and long-term financial sustainability. His responsibilities also included financial reporting, accounting, strategic planning and budgeting, credit risk, corporate finance, market risk, liquidity and asset management, and product development. He represented the World Bank on the Financial Stability Board. His role was instrumental in laying the groundwork for the World Bank’s first significant capital increase in over 20 years.  He  also chaired the successful discussions that resulted in the 2007 replenishment of the International Development Association, the World Bank’s fund for the poor.

Prior to joining the World Bank, La Via was the CFO for Banca Intesa. He worked at the Italian Ministry of the Treasury between 1994 and 2000. In his position as Treasury’s Director General for Public Debt, Mr. La Via changed the structure of the Italian debt, reducing the debt servicing costs and increasing its resilience to interest rate shocks. He led the work on public debt during challenging times as the country was preparing for the Euro adoption in 1999.

As the new Director General of Treasury, Mr La Via will be the Head of Department  responsible for key processes to support the development and implementation of economic and financial policy decisions of government, both nationally and internationally.