The high level of non-performing loans continues to be the main factor of vulnerability for Italian banks, but "we could be at a turning point". This was stated by the governor of the Bank of Italy, Ignazio Visco, during a hearing in the Senate Finance Committee.
"The consolidation of the economic recovery - he added - is an essential condition for the reduction of the stock of non-performing exposures to continue". The Atlante fund will have resources of at least 4 billion and will be "in line with the European rules on state aid", continued Visco, specifying that private intervention is now "being examined by the ECB".
Just today, the ABI announced in its monthly report that in February the net non-performing loans posted by Italian banks fell to 83,1 billion, from 83,6 billion in January. Compared to the same month of 2015, the figure marks an increase of 4,8% (+3,8 billion), in any case a slowdown compared to the +5,3% at the end of 2015. Two months ago, therefore, the ratio between net bad loans and total loans stood at 4,6% (4,64% in January 2016 and 4,39% in February 2015).
As for Mps, “as a result of the supervisory review and evaluation process (Srep) for 2015 – the governor went on to say – some weaknesses have been confirmed, the main one being the weight of non-performing loans. The company situation continues to be followed closely. The weight of non-performing loans is also the effect of the highly expansive credit strategy pursued before the emergence of the crisis, on which the bank is now actively working”.
Also on Mps "we were also asked to put in place structural solutions, through a process of integration with other intermediaries", concluded Visco.
Furthermore, the governor of the Bank of Italy has not spared criticism of the new European legislation on the resolution of banking crises which has led to the application of the bail-in in the case of the four regional banks Banca Marche, Banca Etruria, Carichieti and Carife. “The regulatory response on crisis management – highlighted Visco – has created uncertainty on investments in bank liabilities. An instrument designed to reduce the impact of a crisis cannot create the premises to make it more probable: if this is the case, it must be reviewed”.
