In this interview excerpt, Alfonso Iozzo, senior executive in the Sanpaolo banking group from 1961 to 2006, Chairman of Cassa Depositi e Prestiti in Rome from 2006 to 2008, member of the European Federalist Movement since 1963 and Vice-Chairman of the Triffin International Foundation, emphasises the esteem that Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa, Deputy Director General of the Bank of Italy from 1984 to 1997, a member of the Executive Board of the European Central Bank from 1998 to 2005 and Italian Minister for the Economy and Finance from 2006 to 2008, had for regulatory authorities and the importance he attached to regulation, especially within the banking sector.