End of an IRI

摘要

It Was once Italy's largest employer, owning stakes in everything from Alitalia, the national airline, to a company that makes panettone Christmas cake. Now the Istituto per la Ricostruzione Industriale (IRI), the Italian state holding corporation, is to be killed off. The Treasury ministry, its sole shareholder, will place the corporation in liquidation on June 28th. About time, too. IRI has long outlived its usefulness. Established in 1933 as a temporary body to tackle banking crises, it took over Banca Commerciale Italiana, Credito Italiano and Banco di Roma, three big banks with large problem portfolios of industrial shareholdings. Alfa Romeo, the car maker, became an IRI firm when the state holding corpotation was established. After the second world war, IRI helped to finance the big infrastructure projects that were part of Italy's reconstruction: building roads and the telephone network, and investing in steel and engineering.