Stick 'em Up. I Want to Apply for a Loan.

Lots of builders are in trouble with their banks these days, but not many try to work out a solution by kidnapping their bankers. That's what one Spanish contractor attempted today in the Mediterranean resort of Malaga.

According to police reports, the unidentified contractor approached his victim in the bank parking lot, pulled a pistol, and forced him back into his car. After threatening the banker's family, the kidnaper demanded a 50,000 euro loan -- and, while, he was at it, the banker's car.

While ostensibly arranging the loan by phone, the banker gave a colleague a coded message suggesting he had been taken hostage. Police were called and arrested the builder.

Kidnapping has become a popular reaction to the recession in Europe. Workers at several factories in France, for example, have held their bosses captive while negotiating severance packages in recent weeks.

The "bossnappings," as the actions are called, have affected plants operated by Sony, 3M, Caterpillar, and a British auto parts company called Scapa Group.

by Mark Stein