Mediterranean hegemon

On February 19, the National Development and Reform Commission issued President’s Decree No. 3, announcing the implementation of unified foreign exchange control.

The Central Bank of Italy has established a foreign exchange management center. Union Bank is the only designated foreign exchange service management agency. Foreign exchange owned by other banks can be retained as reserves of the bank, or can be converted into lira at market prices, but it can only be exchanged in one direction and cannot be restored. , in other words, if these bank foreign exchanges are exchanged for lira through foreign exchange center transactions, they cannot be exchanged back. If you want to exchange them again, you must apply to the United Bank and go through the center's review. Foreign bank branches must also go through the center for foreign exchange transactions. Bank Foreign Exchange Management Center.

In addition to exchange restrictions, the Foreign Exchange Management Center also controls cross-border exchanges. All foreign exchange exchanges are only reserved through the United Bank. Large-amount exchanges must be reviewed - the cumbersome procedures directly hinder transactions, but the Foreign Exchange Management Center reserves the right for the public to An exchange window was opened and they were allowed to go to the United Bank to exchange for foreign exchange, with a fee of 120,000 lire per person per year - with ID documents.

As soon as the news came out, the market was in an uproar: the lira exchange rate instantly exceeded 50:1, and all other banks completely rejected depositors' requests to exchange foreign exchange and pushed customers to United Bank. On the one hand, it is to vent dissatisfaction, and on the other hand, it is also intentional to cause trouble for United Bank.

So everyone rushed to United Bank and tried to exchange foreign currency in a hurry. They thought they would be rejected. Unexpectedly, United Bank issued a statement: It agreed to exchange foreign exchange and provide 24-hour service, but each person could only exchange 40,000 at a time. Lira - equivalent to the level of 800 US dollars. This requirement is far from enough for institutions and investors, but it is completely enough for ordinary people. Therefore, the opposition of ordinary people is much smaller, and there are long queues in front of the Union Bank. ——The scene of the outbreak in the United States is repeated in Italy.

The American reporters who came from across the ocean were stunned when they saw this scene again: As expected, wherever the president goes, the news will follow.

Starting from February 20, in order to take care of the mood of the exchange crowd, the rate of decline of the lira exchange rate has slowed down. It took 4 days to go from 50:1 to 55:1. Since United Bank is indeed conducting exchanges as required, anyone who can be scheduled Everyone on the team has changed to foreign exchange, so everyone's scolding of the president only stayed at this level.

This is not over yet. On February 24, the National Development and Reform Commission convened the Banking Association to once again introduce management regulations:

Establish a deposit insurance and deposit guarantee system. The deposits of each depositor (regardless of institutions or individuals) are guaranteed by the central bank, with a limit of 500,000 liras per person. If the bank fails, the central bank will fulfill joint and several guarantee responsibilities, avoiding the evaporation of the rights of depositors who had previously bankrupted the bank. , the price is that banks must pay deposit reserves, the basic standard is 10%, and will be implemented from April 1.

At the same time, the central bank implements window guidance and does not allow banks to lend to foreign individuals and institutions. Violators will be condemned. Loans that have been issued should be recovered as scheduled or as early as possible. The central bank will conduct inspections at that time. If the external credit extension exceeds 5%, no bank change is allowed. Inter-bank lending is not possible, nor can it be borrowed from the central bank.

After the news came out, there was a lot of discussion in the banking industry, and the supporters and opponents were clearly divided: small and medium-sized banks generally supported the president, while large banks generally opposed it. The senior officials of the Siena Bank, who had suffered the last time, even closed the door and banned Contini. They were scolded, but they were scolded, and they didn't dare to openly express their dissatisfaction - the black paratroopers made them still frightened, and everyone could only curse the president to step down early. It would be best to become a pauper with nothing. Maybe he could be rewarded then1 lira.

The motivation for small and medium-sized banks to agree is very simple. Due to their weak capital strength, they must spend more money and pay higher interest to attract customer deposits. Once the deposit insurance system is introduced, customers can sit back and relax. Of course, the 10% margin It is worth paying, and these reserves can also be used as a reference for the central bank to support the bank when necessary, which is of great significance; the objections of the big banks are simple. They do not want to lose an additional 10% of their deposits, and at the same time, foreign exchange controls limit their speculation. Ability makes them feel very unhappy.

Francisco, the president of the United Bank, was worried and said: "Calais, the financial community has a lot of opinions on you. They originally supported you as president, but now this..."

"Did I prevent them from getting rich?" Contini waved his hands. "I blocked their way to make money through speculation, but I opened the way for construction and development loans. This is called opening the right door and blocking the evil door. Issued by United Group It is true that the U.S. dollar bonds exchanged for foreign exchange can be handed over to the central bank for currency stability, but why should I fulfill the obligation of currency stability so that they can make money through speculation? "

Francisco nodded: "That's true, but there are too many opponents now. I'm afraid..."

Contini said seriously: "I don't understand their ideas. They hope to share the wealth from the United Group. As a benefit for them to support me in coming to power, do I lack their support? If the ten-year revival begins, I will How can I demonstrate the authority of the National Development and Reform Commission by coaxing them? Let them go and make trouble. If anyone dares to refuse, I will bankrupt him tomorrow. Don’t doubt my determination. I will do what I say. !”

Francisco was speechless. The president was about to go crazy. He probably wouldn't use black paratroopers this time, but leading a run was more terrifying than black paratroopers. He didn't believe how many banks could withstand Contini's run. This was not a quantity at all. hierarchical.

"Also, do you know why we deliberately guide the exchange rate to depreciate? This is the process of building confidence..." Contini smiled, "When I became president of the National Development and Reform Commission, many people were skeptical, and I proposed to catch up with the Premier League. More and more people are doubtful about the goal of the law; I issue a few orders, and the skeptical people almost form a division. This doesn't work. I have to let people see the weight of my words and let them know what I say. It is effective, the work is effective, and the methods are clever. This proves that only ten years of rejuvenation can be sustained. Otherwise, if I introduce a policy and a lot of people will criticize it, how will I carry out my work in the future? "

In an interview with ibc on March 3, Contini pointed out that the current lira exchange rate is obviously abnormal and is greatly undervalued because some people engage in large-scale speculation. The government will severely punish such behavior and hopes that the Italian people will not listen to rumors. , in the office, he was rubbing Vivian, who came for an interview, and the bulge on her chest, and jokingly said in his ear: "Tell them, there is no basis for devaluation of the lira!"

"Disgusting!" Vivian replied plaintively, "The lira has no basis for depreciation. If you don't rub it here, it will really fall apart... How long have you been out this time? Betty hasn't seen you in more than a year."

"I'll make it up to you tonight!"

The compensation was effective, but the call was of no use, and the lira continued to depreciate.

On March 9, Contini once again shouted through "Italian People's Daily": The lira has no basis for long-term depreciation, and malicious foreign forces shorting the lira will definitely not end well!

However, the market turned a deaf ear to his words, and applications for lira exchange continued unabated. However, now residents have almost exchanged lira. Now it is institutions and capitalists who are exchanging lira through ordinary people, so that there are queues for employment. Those people You can get rewards every time you queue up for exchange. Institutions and capitalists use this ant-moving method to arbitrage foreign exchange.

Many urban poor in Italy do not have cash assets of 120,000 lire, so they help others exchange them and then get a price ranging from 3,000 to 5,000 lire.

Seeing that the lira's exchange rate has hit the door of 60 lira: 1 dollar, Contini's long-awaited counterattack finally arrived...