Italy: Danger Exists Organized Crime May Replace Banking System

Once again, we hear, this time from The Guardian that the credit crunch is enabling Italian mobsters to burrow deeply into Italy's economy.

According to the head of Italy's employers' federation:

it was necessary to avoid a situation in which "the only way to find credit is by way of usury". He said there was a danger of "organised crime replacing the banking system". Confindustria is pressing for measures to ensure that Italian business gets continued access to credit.

The article reports:

Central bank figures show that the flow of loans to business has fallen drastically in the past 18 months. By May, the volume of credit made available to companies of all sizes had shrunk to less than a quarter of what it had been in December 2007.