I recently saw on TV a reporter that “discovered” that Italian banks do not easily grant loans to temporarily employed people who do not have a solid backing.
This looks to me a nearly-hysteric attitude: how can you one day blame US banks, that undermined financial system since since they didn’t worry if the borrowers were or were not able to repay the loan they were asking, the next day blame Italian banks that instead do worry?
Undoubtedly, Italian banks are said to “lend you money only if you can prove you don’t need it”, and this is a problem. But is it really not now the moment to criticize them for they don’t easily grant subprime mortgages?
In my opinion, this also diverts attention from the real problems of many Italian workers, that live on short-term contract and can’t do any plan for the future, and that’s why they are often called “precarious workers“. Surely employment is radically changed if compared to 50 years ago, and the idea of a steady job in the same company for all working life is Clearly outpaced. But this should meand that job market should be made more efficient, or that should be developed suitable social security “cushions” to protect workers. But, may we like it or not, these are not banks’ job.
banknoise.com [http://www.banknoise.com]
Mortgage hysteria
