Before the rural savings banks started to function properly, credit was in the hands of the man of respect. Growers who wanted credit were obliged to sell their goods to him. As sources multiplied, credit no longer came with the same strings attached. It is now granted sparingly to customers rather than producers and is a means of fostering competition rather than enforcing collusion. Creditors are therefore less inclined to resort to violence against insolvent debtors lest they lose their clients to more benign rivals.

Diego Gambetta, The Sicilian Mafia The Busi…, loc. 560