Banking association says mortgage loans rising

(ANSA) - Rome, June 17 - The Italian Banking Association (ABI) said Tuesday that it has recorded a sharp rise in mortgage loans for new home purchases.
    The number of mortgage loans for new homes rose by 26.5% in the first four months of this year compared with the same period in 2013, said the ABI.
    During the first four months of 2013, mortgage loans for new homes fell by 14.7% compared with the same period in 2012, the group said.
    According to ABI, this data indicates that there is "some micro glimmer of light there" that could hint at a turning point in the Italian economy which has been struggling to emerge from its worst recession since the Second World War.
    ABI said that the data was collected from 83 banks representing about 80% of the retail banking market, and showed that new mortgage loans worth 7.3 billion euros were made between January and April, an increase of 26.5% compared with the 5.8 billion euros in mortgage loans made in the same period of 2013.