ROME: Italian banks held 198.9 billion euros ($217 billion) in gross bad loans in September, central bank data showed on Thursday, highlighting a major drag on lenders’ capital and profitability and a focus of regulatory attention.
The Bank of Italy’s monthly report also showed an ongoing contraction in bank lending to businesses. Loans to insolvent borrowers stood at 200.1 billion euros in August. Loans to non-financial companies fell 0.2 percent from a year earlier in September after a similar drop in August. The Bank of Italy said the estimated selling value of the bad loan stock was 85 billion euros, or 42.7 percent of their gross book value.
