Italy’s Banking Crisis is Also a Huge Crime Scene

Written on December 21st, 2016 in politics Comments Off

Published on Wolf Street, by Don Quijones, Dec 18, 2016.

Toxic loans as a result of corruption, political kickbacks, fraud, and abuse … //

… Foreign and local investors are dumping Italian government bonds and withdrawing their funding to Italian banks. The bank at the heart of Italy’s financial crisis, Monte dei Paschi di Siena (MPS), has bled €6 billion of “commercial direct deposits” between September 30 and December 13, €2 billion of which since December 4, the date of Italy’s constitutional referendum.

Italy’s new Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni, who took over from Matteo Renzi after his defeat in the referendum,said his government — a virtual carbon copy of the last one — is prepared to do whatever it takes to stop MPS from collapsing and thereby engulfing other European banks. His options would include directly supporting Italy’s ailing banks, in contravention of the EU’s bail-in rules passed into law at the beginning of this year. Though now, that push comes to shove, the EU seems happy to look the other way.

While attention is focused on the rescue of MPS, news regarding another Italian bank, Banca Etruria, has quietly slipped by the wayside.

On Friday it was announced that the first part of an investigation concerning fraudulent bankruptcy charges, in which 21 board members are implicated, had been closed. This strand of the investigation concerns €180 million of loans offered by the bank which were never paid back, leading to the regional lender’s bankruptcy and eventual bail-in/out last November that left bondholders holding virtually worthless bonds … //

… The court also indicted 13 former and current managers from the three banks over the case, with prosecutors alleging they had used complex derivatives trades to conceal losses at MPS.

Yet, as has happened in just about every Western jurisdiction since the Global Financial Crisis (bar Iceland, of course), no one will be held to account for the myriad “alleged” white-collar crimes, misdeeds and misdemeanors that paved the way to Italy’s unfolding banking crisis. As in Spain, high-profile investigations will be launched and trials will be held, yet they will lead nowhere. And they will take years getting there … //

… If the last nine years have taught us anything, it is that banks — and bankers occupying the corner offices — operate above the law of just about any land. All too often they’re too big not to bail and too important and well-connected to jail. In some cases, banks are even deemed too broke to fine. As long as the people gaming the financial system remain immune from criminal prosecution, the crises will continue. By Don Quijones, Raging Bull-Shit.

“There is not and there will not be a banking crisis in Italy, nor will there be a European financial crisis coming from Italy,” explained European Commissioner Moscovici. But wait… So Who Gets to Pay for Italy’s Banking Crisis?

(full text, hyperlinks).

Links:

Labour And Its Brexit Dilemma, on Social Europe, by Carl Rowlands, Dec 19, 2016;

Alerte désinformation sur la Grèce – et 3ème film en préparation [6 VIDEOS], dans Blog YY.net, par YANNIS YOULOUNTAS, le 19 déc 2016;

on Geopolitical Analysis, by K.N. Pandita:
Demonetization – a national priority, Dec 19, 2016;
Ethnic cleansing in Bangladesh, Nov 29, 2016;
Surgical strike on black money, Nov 12, 2016;

Banksy va débarquer en Belgique, dans Le Soir.be,par T.Cne, le 17 déc 2016: une exposition des œuvres de l’artiste se tiendra à Anvers… mais le lieu précis reste un mystère;
resp. VIDEO: The Art of Banksy Antwerp – Find The Red Balloons on Sunday, 0.20 min, uploaded by GRACIA LIVE, Déc 17, 2016;

Kölner Treff vom 16. Dez 2016, 83.59 min, von Freie Propaganda 2.0, … zu Gast bei Bettina Böttinger sind Margie Kinsky, Bill Mockridge, Jürgen Vogel, Dr. Marianne Koch, Olaf Schubert, Thomas Ohrner und Melanie Raabe;

on KASHMIR and IDPs, by K.N. Pandita:
Lettre to the Editor DE, Dec 16, 2016;
A State with trilateral power centre, Dec 12, 2016;
Fidayeen attack on strategic Nagrola base, Nov 30, 2016;

Don’t Cry Over Dead Trade Agreements, on Social Europe, by Dani Rodrik, Dec 15, 2016;

Wutbürger gegen Gutmenschen bei Maischberger,”am 14. Dez 2016 – komplett, 74.08 min, von Kosake van Ze (mein Kommentar: es ist das erste Mal, dass ich eine solche Sendung zu Ende höre. Einigen Teilnehmern gelingt es schon besser, ewigen Main-Stream Diktaten zu widersprechen – Heidi);

Athènes est un volcan, Exarcheia est son cratère (vidéo), dans Blog YY.net, par Yannis Youlountas, le 7 déc 2016;

Grèce: violents affrontements lors d’une manifestation (photos), dans Le Soir, le 7 déc 2016: il s’agissait d’une manifestation à la mémoire d’un jeune homme tué par la police en 2008;

Journée du film documentaire au FICA , Rester debout, dans El Moudjahid, par Kader Bentounès, le 8 déc 2016: la journée de mardi a été celle du film documentaire à la salle El Mouggar d’Alger dans le cadre de la septième édition du festival international du cinéma d’Alger (FICA) qui prendra fin ce soir, à partir de 19h, sur la projection de trois œuvres de différents horizons;

Grèce: heurts lors d’une manifestation, dans Le Figaro.fr, le 6 déc 2016;

Les 10 pays qui attirent le plus de retraités [PHOTOS], dans Capital.fr, non daté;

… and this:

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