Banksy's works pawned by Europe's art patrons

Europe's wealthy, hit by the crises in Greece and Spain, are increasingly turning to pawnbrokers for credit.

Borro.com, an online pawnbroker, has recently lent more than £2m to Europeans, says chief executive, Paul Aitken. "We've issued loans against 20th-century art, contemporary art and sculpture, early European sculpture and Old Masters." The company, he says, has advanced loans for, among others, works ranging from Henry Moore to Banksy.