ITALIAN BANK PANIC & BAIL-IN – THE NEXT DOMINO TO FALL

BY JEFF BERWICK
On January 1st of this year the European Union passed into law an official “bank bail-in” clause.  The bail-in legislation put into law, across Europe, what was done in Cyprus in 2013 where bank account holders had their funds seized to “save” the bank.  To us, and anyone who is paying half-attention, this was a clarion call to get your funds out of European banks.

Not only was it clear that the European Union knew what was coming but it was also clear, again to anyone paying attention, that what happened in Cyprus would happen throughout the European Union.

In fact, I have said this numerous times, including last July in this interview in which I explained clearly what was going to occur, and probably sooner rather than later.

Jeff Berwick On The Financial Repression Authority – The Shemitah And Keynesian Insanity … Government debt in most countries has become so high that minor increases in the interest rate would lead to immediate default …  
“What is happening in Greece right now is just the beginning. It will eventually happen in other eurozone countries like Spain, Portugal, Italy, France and in countries all around the world,including the US.”

As predicted, the Italian government recently moved toward bail-ins with the rescue of Banca Etruria.  A pensioner near Rome wrote a note criticizing the transaction and then hung himself.  The pensioner killed himself after losing €100,000.
Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi sent his condolences, which I am sure was well-received by the pensioners family , but defended the rescue, saying the US$7 billion program had to take place to save jobs. But about 130,000 customers lost money. It wasn’t exactly a bail-in but that’s probably next on the agenda.
In addition to Banca Etruria, others were left with little or nothing at Cassa di Risparmio di Ferrara, Banca delle Marche and CariChieti.
How is it that so many people are so asleep that they never see these things coming until its too late?  Clearly they are not Dollar Vigilante readers or subscribers who understand full-fledged bail-ins are on the agenda throughout Europe.
Last week, headlines broadcast the news about renewed Italian bank runs. The share price of Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA has fallen some 50%.  And the Italian stock market has now fallen 25% since the Shemitah collapse that happened worldwide in late August.

Of course, that’s just the beginning. No doubt Italy’s instability will spread.  Monday, bank stocks resumed their slide, but Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi had soothing words in the face of the crisis saying that the banking sector was “much more robust” than thought.
When has a politician ever been wrong in their assessment of things like this ?
Italy’s endless recession has generated non-performing loans  in the area of US$546 billion, which amounts to 20 percent of all Italian loans.
As a result, Italian banks won’t make loans to businesses – the ones that have survived the recession. The latest idea to  emerge is to set up a “bad bank,” that would take bad bank loans while leaving behind the good.
That’s just re-arranging the deck chairs on the Titanic, however.  An accounting trick to make things look good while the whole thing rots from the inside.
We know what they are planning: No less than a total overhaul of the world’s financial system using the disintegration of the current bank system as a justification for radical change.
We’ve been telling subscribers what was (and now is) going to happen for years and many of them are already safely outside of the financial system, shorting the stock market (for fantastical gains) and many hold their assets in precious metals (which rose again today), bitcoin and other hard assets.
In this interview, just released, I spoke with Gus Demos about their precious metals backed debit/ATM card.  We told subscribers about it, and others like it, months ago.

It is an excellent way to keep your funds outside of the banking system but still have access to the funds like you would with a regular bank account.  You can get one here, for example.
Gus Demos will be just one of many speakers at our upcoming TDV Internationalization and Investment Summit to be held on February 18th in Acapulco, Mexico… a day before the world’s largest anarcho-capitalist conference, Anarchapulco.  Attending our summit and getting information and advice from people who know what is happening and how to protect yourself, could be the best thing you do this year, or any year.
Bank bail-ins are coming to a country and bank near you.  Are you going to wait until your bank is closed and the funds seized, like most people, before taking action?  Don’t wait until it is too late, like nearly everyone else.