The “bank desertification” expands. Thus the municipalities without counters increase. And there is a particularly affected range of population …
Our Constitution dedicates an article, n. 47, to credit affirming as one of the fundamental principles of the so -called “economic constitution” that of the protection of savings. «The Republic encourages and protects savings in all its forms; Discipline, coordinates and controls credit exercise “is written in paper. “It favors the access of popular savings to the ownership of the home, the direct cultivator and to the direct and indirect equity investment in the large production complexes of the country”.
It is clear that the content of this article written by the honorable DC Tommaso Zerbi was written after the monetary disasters faced by Italy between the two world wars. Wisely, he expressly remembered the “tragedy of all our generation of small savers”. It is evident that the warning is central to encourage with all possible tools to access credit, especially by the popular bands of Italian citizens.
It is no coincidence that in the Constitution I deliberately and intentionally cize the popular bands because it is not from today that the same find difficulties, of an economic but above all bureaucratic type, in accessing credit even for small sums. Banks profound communicative efforts to make it clear that access to themselves is a question of a click. Try access to credit with a click and whoever succeeds is good.
The situation photographed by the Banking Banking Observatoryedited by the FIBA Foundation of Ferst Cisl, crossing and reworking the data made available by the Bank of Italy and Istat, tells us that 4.6 million Italians do not have near a bank branch. It has now become difficult, even if there are bank branches, make a sampling in some small branches (the few still open). An elderly man who goes there has difficulty collecting even the few cash he needs having some difficulties with the use of credit cards, or not owning them. Even in banks they direct you to the ATM who have placed inside the branch itself.
In this first quarter five other municipalities remained free of branches on their territorymaking the total number to 3,386, equal to 42.9 percent of the total. More than 4.6 million citizens, in fact, with an increase of 0.2 percent live in desertificated municipalities, almost 6.4 million (+1.3 percent) in municipalities being deserted, i.e. those with a single counter.
You judge if this policy responds to the constitutional dictation to encourage savings in all possible forms, especially the popular one. I don’t need to answer because the answer is so obvious and evident, if not obvious, that there is no need for any explanation.
That credit institutions want to save to generate greater profits through a very advanced digitization of their services may appear totally legitimate, as another article of the Constitution, the number 41, concerns the freedom of business and within another article, the number 118, the competition is protected. All lawful, then? No if, considering the situation of savers, of which we will mention shortly, it is taken into account of article 47, that is, the duty of banks to encourage access to saving and credit by savers belonging to the popular bands.
It is known that in Italy there are many “non -digital natives” and “late digital” among which above all the elderly bands. Consider that on an average day, 37.6 million people (64.4 percent of the population from two years of age) connected at least once, spending an average of 2 hours and 51 minutes per person online. It is a population that for 85.7 percent is between 18 and 24 years old and 85.2 percent is between 45 and 54 years old, with a peak of 86.8 percent between 35 and 44.
As you can see from 50 years of age there is a population that does not fall within this massive use of the Internet. In 2023 only 4 65 -year -old people and more out of 10 said they used the Internet regularly. It is evident that for many elderly digitization means exclusion. This does not mean that the technological evolution is not right, but it means that if we want to respect the Constitution, we must provide this elderly population alternatives of access to both the public administration and the banks and services in any case of social importance. Obviously this situation affects, in fact, on the oldest population and the data tell us because, due to the lower level of digital competence (between 65 and 74 years), only 33.9 percent use the Internet Banking against an EU average of 44.7 percent. Is that okay? Let’s go on without taking into account the constitutional warning? Do we leave the elderly without the possibility of withdrawing the cash, albeit miserable, without having to do kilometers perhaps without public transport or not being able to drive a car? In summary: do we fuck us?
