Italian banks enjoyed what analysts call a “heavenly” tax burden in 2024. The country’s lenders reported €46.5 billion in net profits, of which €11.2 billion went to the tax authorities — an effective tax rate of just 24.2%. Total revenues for the sector reached €110.1 billion, with €64.4 billion coming from lending activities.

The trend is not new. Between 2018 and 2024, banks accumulated €162 billion in net profits, paying €33.9 billion in taxes — an average incidence of just 20.9%. Over the same period, the industry generated €626.3 billion in revenues, faced €391.3 billion in costs, and posted €331.2 billion in net interest margins.

On average, Italian banks produced €89.5 billion in revenues per year, including €47.3 billion from lending, and booked €23.1 billion in profits, with annual tax contributions of €4.8 billion. That burden is far lighter than the one faced by small and medium-sized enterprises, which often see more than 60% of their earnings swallowed by taxes, and by workers whose effective tax rates exceed 40%.