One of the initial measures undertaken by Einaudi in his role as Minister of the Budget within the fourth De Gasperi government (May 1947–May 1948) was the re-establishment, in July 1947, of the Interministerial Committee for Credit and Savings. Originally instituted under the Banking Law of 1936 and dissolved in 1944, the committee was tasked with overseeing monetary affairs, safeguarding savings, and regulating the exercise of credit functions. In August 1947, the committee resolved to implement a system of mandatory bank reserves, effective from 30 September. Einaudi justified this credit contraction by underscoring the paramount necessity of protecting savers, which he considered the principal objective of government policy.

Historiographical accounts have raised the doubt that, prior to the monetary tightening of summer 1947, Einaudi, in his capacity as Governor of the Bank of Italy, may have facilitated or at least refrained from impeding the expansion of bank credit, thereby contributing to inflation (as suggested by Graziani and De Cecco).

However, it is also true that Einaudi, resisting pressure from the Italian Banking Association, which sought to set the ratio of assets to deposits at 1:50 (Bank of Italy Historical Archives), had already issued a significant circular to credit institutions on 29 January 1947 concerning mandatory reserves. In this directive, banks were reminded of their obligation to either invest in government or government-guaranteed securities or to deposit with the central bank any excess of deposits and current accounts exceeding 30 times their assets.

Documentation from the historical archives of the Bank of Italy sheds full light onto Einaudi’s dual concern: on the one hand, to acknowledge the banks’ legitimate need for enhanced liquidity; on the other, to resist their more excessive demands. The relationship between the central bank and banks thus materialised in agreements marked by an evident spirit of compromise.