From Bankitalia operational stop to Recrowd

Recrowd - the Italian lending crowdfunding platform that allows people to invest small amounts in the real estate market - has suffered an operational halt from the Bank of Italy. Until further notice, it cannot intermediate the granting of loans.

Via Nazionale raised a number of findings and required the platform to 'promptly prepare' and implement by 31 October next 'a detailed remedial plan to overcome the findings', an indispensable condition for the removal of the operational stop.
The decision by Via Nazionale is dated 31 July. The Bank of Italy clarified that during the period of suspension, 'published and not yet concluded offers are, in any case, unaffected, and the obligations undertaken towards project owners and investors in relation to offers already concluded for which the amounts acquired have yet to be returned to investors remain fully guaranteed'.
Recrowd - which is led by Gianluca De Simone, ceo and co-founder together with colleagues Simone Putignano (cfo/coo) and Massimo Traversi (cpo) - also has an operational partnership with Gabetti Lab, a Gabetti Group company active in property redevelopment.

According to data provided by the company itself, since its foundation - in 2018 - Recrowd has raised over 223 million and has so far returned 111 million with an average annual interest rate of around 10.4 per cent. However, the discontent of several investors has been running around the net for months. The farewell to the Superbonus - which has slowed down the construction industry - and the investigations into alleged illicit activities in urban planning that are paralysing most of the residential construction sites in Milan are said to be at the origin of an effective default rate that has risen from 0% in 2022 to 9.26% in 2023 (a total of 54 projects, 5 of which are in default) to 32.43% last year (24 projects in default out of 74). The forecast for 2025 is a default rate of 34.75 per cent.