The monthly report of the Italian Banking Association has been published with data as at 31 May: loans to households and businesses are growing on an annual basis by +2,3%, in continuity with the positive results recorded in the last two years.
According to the latest official data, relating to the month of April 2018, the mortgage market is positive: total household mortgages are up 2,6% compared to the same period of the previous year. The data to bring to the attention is the decrease in interest rates applied to household mortgages which are now at historic lows: 2,64%, slightly down on the 2,65% recorded in April 2018 e sharply down from the 6,18% practiced before the 2007 crisis.
At historic lows too the average rate on new transactions for the purchase of homes equal to 1,83%, to 1,84% in April 2018 and to 5,72% in 2007. Of the total amount of new mortgage disbursements, around two-thirds are fixed-rate mortgages: good news for everyone until summer 2019 after the decision of the ECB to suspend quantitative easing, leaving rates unchanged until next summer. Instead, after the summer of 2019 "there could be a gradual and worsening change in conditions: those who have taken out a variable-rate loan could only suffer the increase in costs from 2020", said Mario Draghi.
On the other hand, the average rate on new business loan transactions increased to 1,50%, up from 1,47% in the previous month, but significantly lower than the pre-crisis levels of 2007 , when the level was 5,48%.
Separate discussion, but always positive the one on net suffering, i.e. non-performing loans net of the total amount of impairment losses, which in April 2018 amounted to 51 billion euro. The value is decreasing in economic terms, i.e. compared to the previous month, in which the amount was equal to 52,8 billion euro and in sharp decline compared to the figure as at 31 December 2016, when net non-performing loans amounted to 86,8, 40 billion euros. Over the course of about a year and a half, net non-performing loans fell by more than 2,96%. The ratio of net non-performing loans to total loans decreased to 2018% in April 4,89 (it was 2016% at the end of XNUMX).
