Bank debt is down, while bond debt is on the rise. These are, in a nutshell, the main data contained in theMediobanca R&D Yearbook, which analyzes and describes the trend of debt situation of large industrial groups in Italy between 2010 and 2014.
From the beginning of the period considered i financial debts of the groups in question increased by 32,5 billion, reaching 270,8 billion euro at the end of 2014. As mentioned, the bank debt, decreased by 12 billion (of which 2 billion in the short term and 10 billion in the medium-long term), to 115 billion.
The bond debt of large companies, on the other hand, increased by 44,5 billion, thus reaching 155,8 billion euro. At the end of 2014, bond debt covers 71,9% of total medium-long term debt against 61,1% in 2010. The ratio between total financial debt and equity remains within manageable limits at 107,9 % in 2014, up from 99,5% in 2010.
The liquidity parked with large industrial and financial groups sharply increased, growing by 33,9 billion to 85,4 billion, of which 20 billion in public companies and 14 billion in private companies. In fact, therefore, large companies could immediately repay a third of their financial debt but, as stated in Mediobanca's R&D Yearbook, they prefer to keep this cushion "as a precaution".
