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Credit - NO LEVIES - PAYMENTS OF BNI for account holders
Thursday, June 7, 2012
BNI depositors unable to make withdrawals / payments, payments of utility bills, mortgage payments, taxes
Peter Giordano, Adiconsum: "Grave of the Bank of Italy's attitude that takes action without considering the impact on depositors, and especially on single-income families and pensioners" Adiconsum Bank of Italy asks for an urgent meeting and the lifting of the The Bank of Italy authorized the suspension of payments by Bank Network Investments SpA (BNI) without communicating anything to the depositors.
Very serious and unacceptable - says Peter Jordan, Secretary General Adiconsum - the attitude of the Bank of Italy SpA in each BNI, because highly prejudicial to the interests of customers.
Bank of Italy, in fact, after extending the receivership of the bank, thus giving the impression of an imminent rescue, then gave the green light for compulsory winding up, without giving any prior notice to the depositors, leaving them in no condition to perform any type of operation, even basic ones for daily survival, such as withdrawals / payments, utilities payments, rates, taxes.
We must unfortunately note that offensive measures as those adopted to customers BNI - Giordano complaint - not an isolated case. Decisions without taking into account the heavy impact, particularly on savers in possession of a single bank account on which accrediting salary or pension, are not new to Bank of Italy, and also affected depositors of Banca MB.
The attitude of the Bank of Italy - Jordan continues - is bureaucratic and deed and as Adiconsum we asked in a letter sent to the Bank of Italy and the lifting of the BNI and an urgent meeting to define the way in which customers, especially Fixed-income families and pensioners, can perform normal daily operations.
European finance officials have discussed limiting the size of withdrawals from ATM machines, imposing border checks and introducing euro zone capital controls as a worst-case scenario should Athens decide to leave the euro.
EU officials said the ideas are part of a range of contingency plans. They emphasised that the discussions were merely about being prepared for any eventuality rather than planning for something they expect to happen.
But with increased political uncertainty in Greece following the inconclusive election on May 6th and ahead of a second election on June 17th, there is now an increased need to have contingencies in place, the EU sources said.
The European Commission said today it was helping with legal advice in discussions of contingency scenarios regarding Greece by the Eurogroup working group.
"I've not said that I'm not aware of any discussions, I've said I'm not aware about any plans, which is a slight difference," Commission spokesman Olivier Bailly told a regular news briefing, when asked about Commission involvement in discussions about the contingencies were Greece to leave the euro.
"What I said also is that some people are working on scenarios. We are providing information about EU law, as the guardian of the treaty," he said.
The discussions have taken place in conference calls over the past six weeks, as concerns have grown that a radical-left coalition, Syriza, may win the second election, increasing the risk that Greece could renege on its EU-IMF bailout and therefore move closer to abandoning the currency.
No decisions have been taken on the calls, but members of the Eurogroup working group, which consists of euro zone deputy finance ministers and heads of treasury departments, have discussed the options in some detail, the sources said.
Belgium's finance minister, Steve Vanackere, said at the end of May that it was a function of each euro zone state to be prepared for problems. These discussions have been in that vein, with the specific aim of limiting a bank run or capital flight.
As well as limiting cash withdrawals and imposing capital controls, they have discussed the possibility of suspending the Schengen agreement, which allows for visa-free travel among 26 countries, including most of the European Union.
"Contingency planning is underway for a scenario under which Greece leaves," one of the sources, who has beeninvolved in the conference calls, said. "Limited cash withdrawals from ATMs and limited movement of capital have been considered and analysed."
Another source confirmed the discussions, including that the suspension of Schengen was among the options raised.
"These are not political discussions, these are discussions among finance experts who need to be prepared for any eventuality," the second source said. "It is sensible planning, that is all, planning for the worst-case scenario."
The first official said it was still being examined whether there was a legal basis for such extreme measures.
"The Bank of Greece is not aware of any such plans," a central bank spokesman in Athens said when asked about the sources' comments.
The vast majority of Greeks - some surveys have indicated 75 to 80 per cent - like the euro and want to retain the currency, something Greek politicians are aware of and which may dissuade them from pushing the country too close to the brink.
However, Syriza is expected to win or come a strong second on June 17th. Alexis Tsipras, the party's 37-year-old leader, has said he plans to tear up or heavily renegotiate the €130 billion bailout agreed with the European Union and International Monetary Fund. The EU and IMF have said they are not prepared to renegotiate.
If those differences cannot be resolved, the threat of the country leaving or being forced out of the euro will remain, and hence the need for contingencies to be in place.
Switzerland said last month it was considering introducing capital controls if the euro falls apart.
In a conference call on May 21st, the Eurogroup Working Group told euro zone member states that they should each have a plan in place if Greece were to leave the currency.
Belgium's Mr Vanackere said two days after that call that it was a basic function of each euro zone member state to be prepared for any eventuality.
"All the contingency plans (for Greece) come back to the same thing: to be responsible as a government is to foresee even what you hope to avoid," he told reporters.
"We must insist on efforts to avoid an exit scenario but that doesn't mean we are not preparing for eventualities."
On May 31st Bank Network Investments discretely posted an announcement on their website that they would be freezing all of their customers accounts for 1 month freeze on citing financial difficulties.
The announcement was posted and the bank gave customers 7 days to act before the Bank of Italy approved freeze went into effect.
The bank’s customers are saying they were completely unaware of the notice being posted and are just now finding out about it when they go to the bank or the ATM for the first time.
The media certainly hasn’t reported on it and news of the freeze is only now starting to make its way around the internet after a complaint was posted on the popular Italian consumer rights website Adiconsum along with a photo of a shutdown ATM.
The freezing of the customer’s deposits, in a nation that apparently doesn’t have a mechanism like the FDIC to insure customer deposits against losses, has sent a shockwaves of terror across Italy raising fears that other customers will lose their deposits entirely.
In turn speculation is growing that other banks in Italy and across Europe may soon suffer the same fate as Europe officials announce they are planning ATM and Bank withdrawal restrictions to deal with a Greece exits from the Euro.
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Does anyone know how big this company actually is?
Does anyone know how big this company actually is?
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