IDEM (Italian Derivatives Market)
Market segment of the Italian Stock Exchange (Borsa Italiana) dedicated to derivatives.

IFRS (International Financial Reporting Standards)
As from 2005, all European listed companies must report in conformity with IFRS (previously known as IAS). This means that the majority of assets and liabilities have to be valued and classified differently.

IMF (International Monetary Fund)
A specialised agency of the United Nations established in 1945 to promote international trade, stabilise exchange rates, and help countries experiencing short-term balance of payments difficulties to maintain their exchange rates.

Indirect environmental impact
Environmental change deriving from the activities of third party organisations directly related to the main one. In the case of a bank, for example, reference is made to the impact of customer companies performing activities financed with resources lent by the bank.

Institutional investors
Entities with large amounts to invest, such as investment companies, mutual funds, brokerages, insurance companies, pension funds, and investment banks.

Internal dealing
Transactions of purchase and sale performed by the directors and other "relevant people", that is those people who, by virtue of their position, have access to privileged information concerning shares (excluding non convertible bonds) of the same company.

Investment banking
Dealing in the sale and purchase of financial instruments and portfolio management, either jointly or separately.

Investor relations
A department in most medium and large public companies that provides investors and market intermediaries with an accurate account of the company.

IPO (Initial public offering)
A company's first sale of stock to the public.

ISO (International Standards Organization)
World federation of organisations setting national technical standards. The main reference standards issued include the ISO 14001 (related to environmental management systems) and the ISO 9000 (related to quality systems).

Issuer
An entity that places a financial asset in the marketplace.