(see related stories on Vegas, Banca Etruria)
Giuseppe Vegas, the head of Italian
market regulator Consob, admitted Monday that prospectuses for
financial products were often too complicated for the general
public.
But he also said that the risks were clear in the
documents for bonds in four small Italian banks, which are now
worthless after a rescue last year.
Many small investors who lost money in bonds in those
banks say they were deceived about the risks.
"The prospectus is a document that is too long and complex
to be read and completely understood by a saver," Vegas said.
But he said that the bond prospectuses for the four
banks, Banca Etruria, Banca Marche, Cassa di Risparmio di Chieti
(CariChieti) and Cassa di Risparmio di Ferrara (CariFe), did
highlight the potential pitfalls.
"The prospectuses were drafted respecting the rules of
transparency stipulated in the regulations," Vegas said.
"They gave maximum prominence to all the risk factors
connected to the complexity of the instruments and the situation
the banks were in, specifying that there was a risk of losing
all the capital invested".
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