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Amsterdam city council is turning its attention to a pressing problem for one of the city's key business sectors -- banking and credit for prostitutes who can't get accounts from mainstream institutions.
The city's red light district is famed the world over for its women in tiny windows and even tinier clothing, but despite the trade being legal, many banks shy away from taking the ladies on as customers.
As part of the city's "Project 1012" to remake the De Wallen neighborhood, which includes the sex district, the city council has been asked to find a way to help bordello owners and sex workers gain more access to banks.
"Up until now, it's been very difficult for people in the sex industry to get credit with the banks," a city council spokesman said on Friday.
"For them it is a hazard that they can not get regular credit or help or mortgages or anything from a regular bank."
The council is expected to come to some sort of conclusion within the next two months on what it might do to help the industry.
It will not, however, establish or sponsor a "sex bank" as reported by a local paper.
"It's more that we're going to investigate and talk with bankers and try to set up a system in which they can get a loan or credit," the spokesman said.
He added the city wants to ensure that prostitution is a "bona fide" industry, and that the "entrepreneurs" who ply the local trade need access to regular bank credit for legitimacy.
Over the long term, under Project 1012 -- named for the area's postcode -- the city plans to restrict prostitution to a few tightly controlled areas.
It has already bought a number of buildings that formerly housed red light windows and converted them into art galleries or housing.
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(Agencies)
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阿姆斯特丹市議會正著力解決為妓女提供銀行信貸服務這一迫切問題。色情服務是該市的重要經濟產業之一，而之前妓女無法在主要金融機構開戶。
該市的紅燈區可謂“享譽全球”，女郎們衣不蔽體地在微型櫥窗后展示自己。盡管色情交易在這里是合法的，但很多銀行還是不愿接受這些女郎為顧客。
該市正開展一項重建德瓦倫社區的“1012項目”，內容之一就是要求市議會想辦法幫助妓院老板和性工作者們獲得更多銀行服務。該市的紅燈區正位于德瓦倫社區內。
市議會的一位發言人于上周五說：“到目前為止，色情行業工作者還是很難獲得銀行信貸服務。”
“對她們來講，無法從正規銀行獲得常規的信貸、資金幫助、貸款等服務，這非常危險。”
預計議會將在未來兩個月內找到某種解決辦法，幫助色情行業獲得銀行服務。
但議會并不會像地方報紙報道的那樣，設立或資助一家“色情業銀行”。
這位發言人說：“我們所要做的不僅僅是做相關調查，與銀行家交談，并試著建立一個性工作者可以獲得信貸的系統。
他還說，該市想要確保色情行業很“真誠”，辛苦從事該行業的“企業主”們需要合法獲得常規信貸服務。
從長期來看，在“1012項目”下，該市計劃將色情服務限制在一些嚴格控制的地區內。“1012項目”以該地區的郵政編碼命名。
該市已收購了一些曾布滿紅燈櫥窗的建筑，并將它們改建為藝廊或住宅。
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（英語點津 許雅寧編輯）
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