InfoAnda - Mafia now Italy's No.1 bank as crisis bites: report |

Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case
Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They

Taiwan denies boycotting Australian film festival
Thursday, August 6, 2009

AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e

Merkel's support dips, regional ally resigns International
Thursday, September 3, 2009

By Sarah Marsh and Noah Barkin

BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German

Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who

Asian markets mixed after Wall Street rally
Wednesday, March 18, 2009

By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an

Political impasse in SKorea ends in compromise | 6 January 2009
Standard Chartered bank's India offer oversubscribed | 29 May 2010
Accused Tyra Banks stalker on trial in New York | Entertainment | | 18 April 2009

Japan PM may set conditions for resignation on Monday: report | | 20 June 2011

Forum Views () Forum Replies ()

Read more with google mobile : Mafia now Italy's No.1 bank as crisis bites: report |

Edition: U.S. Africa Arabic Argentina Brazil Canada China France Germany India Italy Japan Latin America Mexico Russia Spain United Kingdom Home Business Business Home Economy Davos 2012 Technology Media Small Business Legal Deals Earnings Summits Business Video Markets Markets Home U.S. Markets European Markets Asian Markets Global Market Data Indices M&A Stocks Bonds Currencies Commodities Futures Funds peHUB World World Home U.S. Brazil China Euro Zone Japan Mexico Russia India Insight World Video Politics Politics Home Election 2012 Issues 2012 Candidates 2012 Tales from the Trail Political Punchlines Supreme Court Politics Video Tech Technology Home MediaFile Science Tech Video Opinion Opinion Home Chrystia Freeland John Lloyd Felix Salmon Jack Shafer David Rohde Bernd Debusmann Nader Mousavizadeh James Saft Lucy P. Marcus David Cay Johnston Bethany McLean Edward Hadas Hugo Dixon Ian Bremmer Mohamed El-Erian Lawrence Summers Susan Glasser The Great Debate Steven Brill Geraldine Fabrikant Breakingviews Equities Credit Private Equity M&A Macro & Markets Politics Money Money Home Global Investing MuniLand Unstructured Finance Linda Stern Mark Miller John Wasik Analyst Research Alerts Watchlist Portfolio Stock Screener Fund Screener Personal Finance Video Life & Culture Health Sports Arts Faithworld Business Traveler Entertainment Oddly Enough Lifestyle Video Pictures Pictures Home Reuters Photographers Full Focus Video Article Comments (0) Full Focus Editor's choice A selection of our best photos from the last 24 hours. Full Article Images of December Best photos of the year Follow Reuters Facebook Twitter RSS YouTube Read Iranian, Venezuelan leaders rebuff U.S., joke about bomb 09 Jan 2012 Tebow-Mania stealing spotlight from Pats' Brady 09 Jan 2012 Race for 2nd as Romney eyes New Hampshire win | 3:06pm EST Romney leads Republicans, narrows gap with Obama: poll 3:41pm EST Indonesia lifts tsunami warning after Sumatra quake 4:16pm EST Discussed 193 Huntsman outraged at ad targeting adopted daughters 154 Obama to help unveil ”realistic” military plan 79 Payroll jobs up, jobless rate falls to near 3-year low Watched Bungee jumper plummets into Zimbabwe river Sun, Jan 8 2012 Polish prosecutor shoots himself Mon, Jan 9 2012 NZ cargo ship, Rena, splits in two Sun, Jan 8 2012 Mafia now "Italy's No.1 bank" as crisis bites: report Tweet Share this Email Print Related News Banks gorge on ECB loans, market cheer short-lived Wed, Dec 21 2011 Drink to Mafia's bad health at Rome's Dolce Vita cafe Mon, Dec 19 2011 Small business loan demand shows new economic gain Mon, Dec 12 2011 Analysis & Opinion Why low-interest payday loans could scale American riddle: more guns, less violence? Related Topics World » Italy » By James Mackenzie ROME | Tue Jan 10, 2012 2:22pm EST ROME (Reuters) - Organised crime has tightened its grip on the Italian economy during the economic crisis, making the Mafia the country's biggest "bank" and squeezing the life out of thousands of small firms, according to a report on Tuesday. Extortionate lending by criminal groups had become a "national emergency," said the report by anti-crime group SOS Impresa. Organised crime now generated annual turnover of about 140 billion euros ($178.89 billion) and profits of more than 100 billion euros, it added. "With 65 billion euros in liquidity, the Mafia is Italy's number one bank," said a statement from the group, which was set up in Palermo a decade ago to oppose extortion rackets against small business. Organised crime groups like the Sicilian Cosa Nostra, the Naples Camorra or the Calabrian 'Ndrangheta have long had a stranglehold on the Italian economy, generating profits equivalent to about 7 percent of national output. Extortionate lending had become an increasingly sophisticated and lucrative source of income, alongside drug trafficking, arms smuggling, prostitution, gambling and racketeering, the report said. "The classic neighborhood or street loan shark is on the way out, giving way to organised loan-sharking that is well connected with professional circles and operates with the connivance of high-level professionals," the report said. It estimated about 200,000 businesses were tied to extortionate lenders and tens of thousands of jobs had been lost as a result. EXTORTION WITH A CLEAN FACE Old style gangsters handing out cash in bars and pool halls had been replaced by apparently respectable bankers, lawyers or notaries, the report said. "This is extortion with a clean face," it added. "Through their professions, they know the mechanisms of the legal credit market and they often know the financial position of their victims perfectly." Small businesses, who have struggled to get hold of credit during the economic slowdown, may have been increasingly tempted to turn to the mafia, said the report. Typical victims of extortionate lending were middle-aged shopkeepers and small businessmen who would struggle to find a new job and who were ready to try anything to avoid bankruptcy, it added. "They are usually people in traditional retail sectors like food, greengrocers, clothes or shoe shops, florists or furniture shops. These are the categories which, more than any other, are paying the price of the (economic) crisis," it said. According to a separate report this week from small business association CNA, 56 percent of companies had seen banks tighten their lending requirements in the past three months. ($1 = 0.7826 euros) (Reporting By James Mackenzie; Editing by Ben Harding) World Italy Tweet this Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints We welcome comments that advance the story through relevant opinion, anecdotes, links and data. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. For more information on our comment policy, see http://blogs.reuters.com/fulldisclosure/2010/09/27/toward-a-more-thoughtful-conversation-on-stories/ Comments (0) Be the first to comment on reuters.com. Add yours using the box above. Edition: U.S. Africa Arabic Argentina Brazil Canada China France Germany India Italy Japan Latin America Mexico Russia Spain United Kingdom Back to top Reuters.com Business Markets World Politics Technology Opinion Money Pictures Videos Site Index Legal Bankruptcy Law California Legal New York Legal Securities Law Support & Contact Support Corrections Advertise With Us Connect with Reuters Twitter Facebook LinkedIn RSS Podcast Newsletters Mobile About Privacy Policy Terms of Use Our Flagship financial information platform incorporating Reuters Insider An ultra-low latency infrastructure for electronic trading and data distribution A connected approach to governance, risk and compliance Our next generation legal research platform Our global tax workstation Thomsonreuters.com About Thomson Reuters Investor Relations Careers Contact Us Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests. NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.

Other News on Wednesday, 11 January 2012
Judge sets mid-February end date for Mubarak trial |
Mafia now Italy's No.1 bank as crisis bites: report |
Indonesia lifts tsunami warning after Sumatra quake |
U.N. says Syria stepped up killings after monitors arrived: U.S. |
Mexico's presidential frontrunner dips in poll |
Pirates hijack Iranian ship in Gulf of Aden: report |
French probe exonerates Rwanda leader in genocide |
Gaming key to Sony profit rebound: executive |
Analysis: LightSquared in 11th-hour effort to woo Washington |
AU Optronics group conspiracy cost billions: prosecutor |
WebMD scraps sale talks, warns of weak 2012 |
Van Halen with Roth release single Tattoo |
Justin Bieber seeks Jackson-like fame, and no drugs |
Bryan Ferry marries for second time: reports |
U.N. says Syria killings rise after monitors arrive |
Bomb blast kills nuclear scientist in Iran; Israel accused |
Anger grows as Nigeria fuel strike enters 3rd day |
Taiwan's other election no less crucial for China ties |
EU ministers plan Iran oil embargo, IAEA team to visit |
Suspected U.S. drone kills 3 militants in Pakistan: officials |
U.N. says Syria stepped up killings after monitors arrived: U.S. |
Exclusive: Dell plots late-2012 consumer tablet launch |
Motorola, Lenovo sign on to first Intel-powered smartphones |
Strong Apple contingent expected at CES |
Kodak sues Apple, HTC over digital image patents |
Twitter lashes out at Google search changes |
Suit claims Symantec scares consumers on PC health |
Fancy Blackstonesucks.com? Blackstone got in first |
Samsung will focus more on profit than handset volume |
T-Mobile eyes new strategy, may sell towers |
Gaming key to Sony profit rebound: executive |
Cameron urges UK film makers to focus on box office |
Analysis: Peace talks flicker back to life in Mideast storm |
Dutch citizen may plead no contest in Peru murder trial |
Nicaragua's Ortega urges Israel to destroy nuclear arms |
Iraq's Kurds unwilling to hand Hashemi to Baghdad |
Lingerie shops open another door for Saudi women at work |
Bomber enters Afghan police chief compound but misses |
Investing in Iraq requires patience, drinking tea |
Dutch court orders block on Pirate Bay website |
Stratfor relaunches website in wake of attack |
China's Internet users breach half billion mark |
Apple buys Israeli technology firm Anobit |
Greece at new risk of being pushed off euro
Bodies of missing Tenn. mom, Jo Ann Bain, and daughter found
Female Breasts Are Bigger Than Ever
AMD Trinity Accelerated Processing Units Now in Volume Production
The Avengers (2012 film), made the second biggest opening- and single-day gross of all-time
AMD to Start Production of piledriver
Ivy Bridge Quad-Core, Four-Thread Desktop CPUs
Islamists Protest Lady Gaga's Concert in Indonesia
Japan Successfully Broadcasts an 8K Signal Over the Air
ECB boosts loans to 1 trillion Euro to stop credit crunch
Egypt : Mohammed Morsi won with 52 percent
What do you call 100,000 Frenchmen with their hands up
AMD Launches AMD Embedded R-Series APU Platform
Fed Should not Ignore Emerging Market Crisis
Fed casts shadow over India, emerging markets
Why are Chinese tourists so rude? A few insights

USD EUR - 1 year graph		BlogMeter 1.01