San Marino plans to ask for IMF bailout to bolster banks

Loan for enclave still affected by bad debts from 2008 financial crisis equates to 7,500 per resident

Leaders of the medieval enclave of San Marino are preparing to ask the International Monetary Fund for a a250m (222m) loan to bolster its banks, still weighed down by bad debts 10 years after the global financial crisis.

The microstate, which is landlocked within central Italy, has struggled to recover from the effects of the 2008 crisis, which not only exposed the secret bank accounts that helped to generate a hefty amount of its wealth over the years but also embroiled its largest bank - Cassa di Risparmio della Repubblica di San Marino (CRSM) - in a money-laundering scandal.