MILAN Black Dante Pettis Jersey , Oct. 31 (Xinhua) -- Italian banks have taken a beating in recent days in the wake of the announcement of the results of the ECB stress tests, although only two institutions, Monte dei Paschi di Siena and Carige (Genoa Savings Bank), have serious problems in the short-term.


However, a growing number of Italian politicians consider the stress tests and new capital requirements not only insufficient but also misguided; they are calling for wholesale reform of the financial system Black Mike McGlinchey Jersey , with a return to the separation between commercial banks and investment banks.


Among European countries, Italy topped the list with nine banks failing to pass the stress tests, although most of the institutions have already taken measures sufficient to remedy the shortfalls. No problems were noted regarding the country's largest banks.


Before the test results were announced, many in Italy claimed the market was well aware of the problems at Monte and Carige, yet the country's financial system has nevertheless come under significant pressure Black Jimmy Garoppolo Jersey , feeding long-term worries about the lack of trust in the nation among financial operators and institutions abroad. Italy's economy is in its third consecutive year of recession, after enacting heavy austerity and structural reforms beginning in 2011 at the height of the sovereign debt crisis in Europe.


The general view among politicians and economists in Italy is that the Italian banking system is solid, yet there are many who believe the measures and regulations enacted by the ECB and other European Union (EU) institutions are not the proper medicine for an economy which has repeatedly found itself at the mercy of perceptions among international financial operators.


Numerous bills have been introduced in Parliament calling for a return to the separation between commercial banks and investment banks. The campaign seeks to go beyond the rules to ensure financial institutions have enough capital to weather a future crisis, and impose a clear division between different types of banking activities: banks which accept deposits and lend money to families and businesses would be heavily regulated and have their deposits protected by the state; those that operate on the financial markets, for example issuing and trading in financial derivatives Black Jerry Rice Jersey , would be left on their own, free to fail when bets go wrong, without the hope of a bail-out from the taxpayers.


Giulio Tremonti, Italy's Finance Minister during the hottest phase of the global financial crisis starting in 2008, told Xinhua: "You can perform maintenance on the system Black Joe Montana Jersey , or change it. I believe it should be changed, with two key issues: Glass-Steagall to separate ordinary banks from speculative banks, and the emission of eurobonds for investment in infrastructure and growth throughout Europe." Both of these responses, he stressed, are political Richard Sherman Jersey , not technical.


Tremonti was among the first to introduce a bill calling for a return to the separation between different types of banks, citing the celebrated Glass-Steagall Act in effect in the United States until 1999. It is that system, originally signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933, that has become a rallying point around Europe and in the United States for political figures and social groups who believe the response to the global financial crisis has been decidedly inadequate.


They point to the trillions of dollars and euros provided by governments and central banks to prop up financial institutions and markets, in contrast with the heavy austerity demanded of the general population. If a Glass-Steagall-style system had been in place Eli Harold Jersey , they say, no public money would have gone to save speculation; rather, it would have been possible to sustain economic activity and prevent the crash from bringing families and productive businesses down with it.


There are currently nine bills calling for banking separation pending in the two houses of the Italian Parliament, the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate. Every major political party has introduced one. Despite significant overlap among some of the texts, raising expectations for cooperation among different factions Jaquiski Tartt Jersey , the leaders of the largest parties are clearly not ready to move forward with the proposal, given the apparent lack of support in the executive and at the EU level.


As the EU institutions prepare to implement plans for a banking union under the centralized supervision of the ECB, they have shown little interest in discussing the growing calls for revising the structure of the "universal bank" in effect in Europe since reforms were passed in the 1990s, eliminating the various forms of separation and specialization existing until that time.


The issue of breaking up the largest banks based on function was taken up by the "High-level Expert Group" led by Finnish Central Bank head Erkki Liikanen, leading to a report proposing a softer reform known as ring-fencing Arik Armstead Jersey , in which certain functions would be divided but kept under the same holding company. As in the United States, there would also be a large number of exceptions in order to accommodate the complex structure of financial markets today, thus failing to make a fundamental change in the mechanisms that currently dominate global finance.


However, the Chairman of the Finance Committees in both houses of the Italian Parliament declined to respond to a request from Xinhua for comment on the issue.


For activist groups that have been promoting fundamental reforms to the global financial system for years, this official position against the change represents an accommodation towards the large banks that reap considerable profits and influence from the configuration of global markets today. Liliana Gorini DeForest Buckner Jersey , chairwoman of Movisol, an association that is working with both parliamentarians and local legislators to increase pressure for a Glass-Steagall-style reform, claims the refusal by Even the . Wholesale Jerseys Free Shipping Wholesale Jerseys Free Shipping Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys China Cheap Wholesale Custom NFL Jerseys Wholesale Custom NCAA Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys China Free Shippping Wholesale MLB Baseball Jerseys Wholesale NHL Hockey Jerseys Wholesale Basketball Jerseys Free Shipping