Headlines

These Bank Branches Sell Diamonds — and Regulators Are Taking a Look

They’re “reassessing the whole subject.”

Published

9 years ago

November 14, 2016

INSTORE Staff

In Italy, bank customers can do something that many in North America would find strange — buy diamonds.

As Reuters explains, diamond brokers work through several banks throughout the country. The deals generated sales of more than $320 million last year.

But investigators are looking into the practice, Reuters reports. The investigation follows a report by state news channel Rai3 that “several banks sold diamonds as financial products in bank branches at twice the market price.”

Reuters quoted a spokesman with the The Italian Securities and Exchange Commission (CONSOB) saying:

“We are reassessing the whole subject again to see whether we need to act at a regulatory level or with specific recommendations, if there are gray areas or a regulatory gap we need to fill, or if there have been abuses that need to be referred to judiciary authorities.”

Read more at Reuters

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