The Italian Banking Association (ABI) on Monday denied claims made at the weekend that most of the available credit in Italy was going to big business and major employers.
The claim was made by a Mestre-based association of artisans and small businessmen, CGIA, which said that 78% of bank loans went to the top 10% of Italian enterprises.
CGIA also said that this group of ''preferred clients'' was also more likely not to default on loans and small businessmen.
According to ABI chairman Corrado Faissola, ''the data given by CGIA is totally without foundation and in contrast with objective data''.
He said that ABI's data showed that ''52% of credit goes to small and medium-sized businesses, those with a turnover of less than 50 million euros. Companies with over 50 million euros receive less than 30% of available credit''.
