Italian, German employer unions voice credit fears
(MILAN) - Italian and German employer federations on Thursday appealed to the European Union to take "urgent" measures to boost lending by banks so as to prevent a looming credit crunch in their countries.
"Access to credit is becoming more and more difficult," Italy's Confindustria and the Federation of German Industry (BDI) said in a letter to Swedish prime minister and current EU chief Fredrik Reinfeldt.
In the letter, which was released by Confindustria, the two groups said they saw "worrying signs of a credit crunch in Italy and Germany" and warned it would have "dramatic consequences for investments and employment."
"The outlook for the second half of the year is not reassuring," they said.
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