Swap Agreements And Italian Local Authorities: Where Now?

Swap agreements entered into by Italian local authorities remain the subject matter of litigation before the English courts, with some interesting outcomes that deserve the attention of anyone involved in Italy-UK crossborder legal work. In particular, with a recent judgment in Banca Intesa Sanpaolo and Dexia Credit Local S.A. v Comune di Venezia¹ , involving an interest rate swap agreed by the City of Venice, the Court of Appeal allowed the appeal by the banks against the findings of the High Court. Furthermore, whilst the Court of Appeal has stated that it is following the principles established in the landmark judgment by the Italian Court of Cassation in Banca Nazionale del Lavoro S.p.A. v Comune di Cattolica² , its findings significantly reduce the likely impact of the Cattolica judgment on any ongoing proceedings in the English courts concerning the same subject matter.