Bank crashes: up to what point will the scammed be compensated?

The only thing this government really knows how to do is promise public money to all those who, rightly or wrongly, request it. The other day Di Maio and Salvini found themselves in perfect harmony by participating in the meeting of savers who ran into the crash of the Venetian banks, where they promised generous repayments to both bondholders and shareholders. Naturally declaring that he doesn't care about the European rules which prohibit similar generalized operations without the existence of a fraudulent practice by the person who sold the securities having been ascertained by a judge or an arbitrator.

But this way of governing by violating any Italian or European rule seems to convince the very beneficiaries of so much munificence less and less. In fact, if the European community were to threaten a infringement procedure – many scammed say – which state official will ever have the courage to disburse 1,5 billion euros, exposing himself to the risk of being condemned by the Court of Auditors for tax damage?

In short, even the demagoguery of the continuous showdowns is showing the rope. And too much has been done about bank crashes and too casually, ending up damaging the credibility of our banks, of the institutions responsible for supervision, and in the end of the savers themselves, first attracted by attractive promises and then disappointed by the difficulties of implementing them.

The history of bank failures is long and winding. There have certainly been mistakes on the part of both the European and Italian authorities. But Lega and 5 Stars rode the difficulties with an excess of ruthlessness which is now backfiring. The bondholders have already been reimbursed for 80% of their investment while the shareholders of the Veneto banks have had a reimbursement equal to 15% of their investment. Now they are promised up to 95% for bondholders and 30% for shareholders. The European community maintains that these repayments can only be given after a judge or arbitrator has certified the fraudulent practice by the sellers of these securities, and that in any case public money can only be given to small savers or micro-enterprises. Our two ” consuls ” on the other hand agreed to give everything to everyone without going through a judicial check.

Now you will have to find a compromise with Brussels which will then be codified in the two ministerial decrees that our Treasury Ministry will have to issue. But beyond the procedure that still appears long and full of obstacles, we generally have to ask ourselves whether it is right that all Italians' money should be used to repay a few thousand citizens without first rigorously ascertaining whether they have been defrauded and by whom.

In the culture of many Italians and certainly of the Northern League and pentastellati, the state's money is "nobody's money" and instead it is "everyone's money" and should be administered very carefully. Otherwise millions of honest taxpayers will be called upon to pay thousands of citizens without knowing if they have tried to speculate or have really been scammed.

In addition to the European rules, there is a fundamental problem of fairness which perhaps deserves to be judged by the Constitutional Court. Let's take the issue of refunding shareholders. Banks have done badly in recent years. The shareholders have made great sacrifices even in those that fortunately survived. But everyone lost some money. So why should the State reimburse only the shareholders of failed banks and not also those who, with further subscriptions of new shares, have allowed the recovery of their bank?

A lot of problems have accumulated on the banks. Instead of trying to untie the knots, our government increases confusion, uncertainty and damages the very efficiency of banks by reducing their ability to lend to the economy. The attack on the Bank of Italy and the new commission of inquiry into banks at risk create a stalemate into which our economy could sink. Maybe Di Battista and the other grillini who went to visit Venezuela want to apply it here Maduro recipe?