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The Banca Romana scandal surfaced in January 1893 in Italy over the bankruptcy of the Banca Romana,〔(Italy Has Her Scandal; Ex-Premier Crispi Said To Be Involved ), The New York Times, January 27, 1893〕 one of the six national banks authorised at the time to issue currency. The scandal was the first of many Italian corruption scandals, and, like the others, it discredited the whole political system. The crisis prompted a new banking law, tarnished the prestige of the Prime Ministers Francesco Crispi and Giovanni Giolitti and prompted the collapse of the latter's government in November 1893. ==Background== The Banca Romana was founded by French and Belgian investors in 1835. In 1851 the bank became the official bank of the Papal State and in 1874 it was made one of the six national banks authorised to issue currency.〔Sarti, ''(Italy: a reference guide from the Renaissance to the present )'', pp. 135-36〕 Due to rising inflation and easy credit, the Banca Romana and the five other issue banks (banks that were allowed to issue banknotes), had steadily increased their note circulation. In 1887 five of the issue banks had exceeded their legal limit, a fact well known to the government and banking and financial circles. However, restricting credit in a period of speculative construction boom was considered politically impossible.〔Seton-Watson, ''Italy from liberalism to fascism'', pp. 154-56〕 Since the late 1880s, the Italian economy had been sliding into a deep recession. New tariffs had been introduced in 1887 on agricultural and industrial goods, followed by a trade war with France, which badly damaged Italian commerce. Many farmers, especially in southern Italy suffered severely, which eventually led to the uprising of the Fasci Siciliani.〔Duggan, ''The Force of Destiny'', (p. 340 )〕 Additionally the collapse of a speculative boom based on a substantial urban rebuilding programme gravely damaged Italian banks.〔Davis, John A., ''(Socialism and the Working Classes in Italy Before 1914 ) '', in Geary, Dick (ed.) (1989), ''(Labour and Socialist Movements in Europe Before 1914 )'', Berg, ISBN 0-85496-200-X, p. 188〕 The governor of the Banca Romana at the time of the scandal, Bernardo Tanlongo, was peculiar man; a semi-literate with a genius for accounts and finance.〔 (Tanlongo, il maestro di Calvi e Sindona ), Corriere della Sera, April 26, 1993〕 "He was not a womanizer, he never played, he is the antithesis of all elegance, his frugality resembles avarice," was how the ''Corriere della Sera'' once described him.〔 (L' abominevole Tanlongo e il crac della Banca Romana ), Corriere della Sera, February 8, 2004〕 A former farm hand and former spy during the short-lived Roman Republic in 1849, he made his career in the bank in the Papal State, providing illicit entertainment to Vatican officials. He remained at his post in the Banca Romana after the entry into the capital from Piedmont and was promoted governor in 1881.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Banca Romana scandal」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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