I non-performing loans of Italian banks have exceeded 140 billion euros in July, increasing by 22,3% every year. Most of the non-performing loans are held by the three main Italian banks. This is what emerges from a study published today by Pwc.
In the same month the ratio between gross non-performing loans and total loans was 7,2%, against 5,7% in July 2012. The ratio reached 12,9% for SMEs, 11,3% for large companies and 6% for retail customers.
In the first half of the year, the results instead showed an increase in the ratio of net non-performing loans from an average of 3,3% in 2012 to 3,6% for all banks, with the exception of Bnl, for which the values are decreased following an intercompany transaction. The coverage ratio of non-performing loans was substantially unchanged compared to 2012, with the exception of Mediobanca, whose coverage ratio was higher in the first half of this year (from 47,8% to 56,3%).
With the increase in non-performing loans, Italian banks have started to improve their NPL coverage ratios by more than 10% – slightly delayed according to Pwc – while remaining below pre-crisis levels.
Pwc believes that next year Bank of Italy and the European Central Bank will require Italian institutions to increase your coverage ratio and that next year's financial statements will be affected by substantial write-downs on loans, with an improvement in the bad debt coverage ratio.
Lastly, the analysts point out that the changes to the deductibility of write-downs and losses on receivables for IRES purposes contained in the latest stability Law they would be an important incentive for the recovery of the market.
