"There will still be other difficult quarters, the recovery is very slow: before leading to a reduction in bank non-performing loans we will still have to see the unfolding of the effects of the crisis on businesses". This was stated by the governor of the Bank of Italy, Ignazio Visco, at the end of the ABI executive.
On the other hand, Visco also underlined that some comforting signs can be glimpsed on the front of the "deceleration of the growth of non-performing loans and the reduction in the entry rates of non-performing loans".
Yesterday the ABI announced that in January non-performing loans in the portfolios of Italian banks reached 160,42 billion, setting a new record. Furthermore, in relation to loans, non-performing loans stood at 8,4% (+2% on an annual basis), against 2,8% at the end of 2007, before the crisis.
As for the upcoming capital increases of various lenders, the Governor believes these actions go “in the right direction. It could be that there are other reasons, but what we see now is that, in effect, if you have prospects and a plan, the capital is there. They exist in our country as elsewhere”.
