(Finance) – In 2022, there were 255,202 protests registered in the computer register, of which 224,899 bills of exchange (88.1%) and 30,303 checks (11.9%). This was revealed by an Istat report which shows that their overall monetary value reaches an amount exceeding 242 million euros: approximately 157 million concern bills of exchange (64.8%) and approximately 85 million checks (35.2%).
The protested subjects are 70,860: 50,297 people (71.0%) and 20,563 businesses (29.0%). Compared to 2021, the values are all decreasing: number of protests -7.7%, monetary value -11.8%, protested subjects -19.0% (of which people -18.1%; businesses -21.0% ).
In detail: in 2022, as mentioned, they are 255,202 (-7.7% compared to 2021 and -78.6% compared to 2013, the first year of the new historical series). In more recent years, focusing on the years of the pandemic – explains the report – the decline is more decisive in 2020 (-38.7% compared to 2019) and is only partially recovered in 2021 (+9.3% compared to 2020) . The data collected in this two-year period, however, must be read taking into account the legislative provisions on the suspension of the expiry terms of bills of exchange, promissory notes and any other credit instrument or act with enforceable force, adopted in response to the Covid-19 health emergency 2 . To better understand the evolution of the phenomenon it is therefore necessary to wait for the effects of these regulations to end.
The decline – the report notes – in 2022 it affected the entire country, with variations compared to 2021 ranging from -18.8% in the South to -1.7% in the Center; the North West is an exception, recording an increase of 4.2%. The decline is observed in almost all regions with accentuated differences: from -31.3% in Calabria to -1.8% in Liguria. Only Lombardy and Lazio have positive variations (+8.1% and +5.7% respectively).
The protested bills cover 88.1%.% of protests (224,899), reach higher shares in the South (98.8%), in the North-East (98.6%) and on the Islands (97.7%) and are associated more with people (139,732; 62, 1% of protested bills) than to businesses. The checks are 30,303 3, 11.9% of the total protests, with higher shares in the Center (27.1%) and in the North-West (14.9%). Valle d’Aosta/Vallée d’Aoste and the Autonomous Provinces of Bolzano/Bozen and Trento do not present protested cheques. Unlike bills of exchange, checks are more borne by businesses (16,293, 53.8% of protested cheques).
In 2022, 36.4 bills of exchange were protested for every 1,000 issued, in 2021 there were 36.1 per 1,000 issued (+0.8%). The rate of protested checks is 0.4 per 1,000 issued (+53.6% compared to 2021, when they were 0.3). Considering a longer period of time, however, in the space of 10 years both the rate of bills of exchange and the rate of protested checks have more than halved, in 2013 they were respectively 85.0 bills
protested for every 1,000 issued and 1.1 checks protested for every 1,000 issued.
However, Istat also highlights “the reduction in the circulation of bills of exchange and checks and in their use does not appear to be sufficient, alone, to explain the significant decrease in protests”
At the territorial distribution level the use of bills of exchange is more widespread in the Islands (142 bills issued per 1,000 inhabitants), followed by the South and Center (123 and 114 respectively) (Figure 2). At a regional level, bills of exchange are most widespread in Umbria (188 per 1,000 inhabitants) followed by Sicily (163), Campania (154), Lazio (142) and Veneto (133).