## Italy: Financial Sector Assessment Program-Technical Note-Tackling Non-Performing Assets

_IMF Staff Country Reports, August 4, 2020_

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## Bibliographic details
- Published: August 4, 2020
- Series: IMF Staff Country Reports
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.5089/9781513552156.002

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### Summary findings
- Banks’ asset quality has substantially improved in recent years but remains well below European peers.
- Non-performing loans (NPLs) fell from 16½ percent in 2015 to about 8.1 percent at end-June 2019, achieved mainly through €145 billion of private NPL sales.
- NPLs remain well above the 3.0 percent average of the main European Union (EU) banks as of June 2019.
- New NPL formation has fallen to pre-crisis levels.
- Provisioning coverage was 52.5 percent as of June 2019, placing Italy 7.6 percentage points above the average of the main EU banks.

### Key statistics
- NPLs: 16½ percent in 2015 → about 8.1 percent at end-June 2019
- Private NPL sales: €145 billion
- EU peers’ NPL average: 3.0 percent (as of June 2019)
- Provisioning coverage: 52.5 percent (as of June 2019)
- Provisioning coverage relative to EU peers: 7.6 percentage points above the average of the main EU banks

### Thematic focus
- Banking sector asset quality and NPL dynamics
- Role of private sales in reducing stock of NPLs
- Comparative positioning versus main EU banks on NPL ratios and provisioning coverage
- Recent trend in new NPL formation returning to pre-crisis levels

*International Monetary Fund. Italy: Financial Sector Assessment Program-Technical Note-Tackling Non-Performing Assets, IMF Staff Country Reports 2020, 234 (2020).*

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_Source: https://www.imf.org/en/publications/cr/issues/2020/08/03/italy-financial-sector-assessment-program-technical-note-tackling-non-performing-assets-49631_