According to an elaboration carried out by the CGIA Studies Office, from the maximum point of disbursement of bank loans (*) recorded in recent years (August 2011) to the latest available data (August 2017), Veneto companies have seen the total amount of loans of € 29,1 billion. In percentage terms, the contraction was 29,1 per cent, against a national average of -26,2 per cent.
The Veneto province that suffered the most important reduction was Treviso: in the last 6 years the disbursement has fallen by 35,1 percent (-7,1 billion euros), almost 9 percentage points more than the national average. Equally worrying is the situation in the province of Belluno, where the decrease was 33,1 per cent (-784 million euros). In Rovigo, the credit "squeeze" saw loans decrease by 31,8 per cent (-1 billion), in Padua by 30,6 per cent (-5,7 billion), in Verona by 27,5 per cent ( -5,7 billion), in Vicenza by 26,3 percent (-5,3 billion) and, finally, in Venice by 23,8 percent (-3,3 billion).
It is clear, according to the CGIA, that the decline in financial resources in support of businesses is likely to fuel illegal forms of credit supply.
"With the only allegations made to law enforcement officials," says the coordinator of the CGIA Paolo Zabeo study office, "it is not possible to dimension the wear phenomenon. The reports, in fact, continue to be very small in Veneto. However, attention should not be lowered; as the workmen well know, it is very difficult for the victims to find the strength to denounce their defenses. Following the sharp drop in bank lending to firms registered in recent years, it is above all the tax deadlines or the need to face small unexpected spending to push many activities into the arms of the lender, at least in the initial phase when it is entrusted to people apparently available and thoughtful to give you concrete help. It is a pity that in a very short time the situation falls and it becomes very difficult to get out of this vice with its own strength. "
Regarding the news from the work of the Committee on Banking Banks' Inquiry, CGI Secretary Renato Mason points out:
"From what has transpired in recent weeks, the general picture that emerged from the work of the Commission is very worrying, especially on the work of those who had to carry out the checks, so much so that a joint hearing of the heads of the supervision of both the Bank of Italy and Consob. We return to ask that the Commission of Inquiry publish the list of those who have not repaid the loans obtained from the banks that have gone into crisis, convinced that every business can go well or badly, but those who have not respected the commitments made, putting many savers in difficulty must not go unpunished. And don't talk about privacy; when tens and tens of thousands of citizens have lost the assets invested in the shares of the banks and are often called upon with their taxes to save these institutions, there is no privacy to keep ”.
Regarding the delicate issue of the governance of our credit institutions, we have to comply with some rules:
"First of all - continues Mason - it is necessary that whoever is indicated at the helm of a credit institution is able to prove experience and competence in this sector, that the number of mandates be established very clearly and, finally, that the directors do not can be exposed with your bank. And in the light of what has happened in particular with the popular Veneto, the responsibility of the administrators must be ascertained and pursued rigorously, without, however, giving rise to any inquisition or witch hunt ”.
In conclusion Mason states:
"In recent years, the credit granted to businesses has fallen enormously. It is true that this was partially due to the decline in demand and the increase in the suffering caused by the crisis, but the main reasons should be attributed to the application of credit rating rules and benchmarks to banks that are out of from reality and from time. "
Returning to the results of the analysis, the CGIA points out that even in the last year (August 2017 on August 2016) the trend of bank lending to businesses has recorded a negative sign. If the contraction in the Veneto was by 5,2 per cent, in Italy the "narrow" was of 4 per cent. At provincial level the most significant reduction occurred in Venice (-8 per cent), in Rovigo (-7,4 per cent) and in Belluno (-7,2 per cent).
(*) Live loans, ie loans, net of repurchase agreements and net of bad debts, are denominated in companies (non-financial corporations and parent households) resident in the territory. These are performing loans.