Buoni fruttiferi postali e trasparenza

This paper deals with the issue of the applicability of the rules on transparency of banking contracts to the activity of deposit taking carried out through the issuance of certificates by the Cassa Depositi e Prestiti and placed by the Italian Postal entity. More specifically, the paper analyses the remedy arising from the breach, by the intermediary, to the obligation of handing over a document containing the clauses of the contractual relationship between the issuer and the purchaser of the certificate. This analysis is also carried out in the light of a recent decision of the Italian Banking Ombudsman, which has considered – but in the end refused – the hypothesis of granting an equitable estoppel to the investor that has required the repayment of the investment more than 10 years after its maturity, in the case where the intermediary, having breached the obligation to hand over the proper documentation (containing, inter alia, the duration of the certificate), has pled the expiration of the limitation period.