The market leaders in Italian derivatives

Risk Italia – the Italian language edition of Risk – has expanded its rankings coverage this year to see which dealers are providing derivatives users with the best overall service. The competition between local and international banks shows no sign of abating. By John Ferry, with research by Steffen Schwarz

Over-the-counter derivatives volumes in Italy are on the increase, reflecting a global trend, despite the financial scandals that have afflicted the country and the resulting increasing regulatory burden, say dealers.

The growth in the number of institutions actively trading derivatives in Italy is shown by the more than 200 firms – both financial institutions and end-users – that voted in Risk Italia’s second annual rankings. Of these, almost half were corporations (see box for full details).