Abi warns bad loans still on the increase - update

(ANSA) - Rome, March 16 - The size of bad loans continues to rise in Italy, reaching nearly 185.5 billion euros in January compared with 183.7 billion euros in December, the Italian Banking Association (ABI) said Monday. It said that the length of time for debt recovery was also stretching, averaging seven year with a peak of 20 years in Messina. Problems with the rising value of bad loans are weighing on Italian banks and have been blamed for a slowdown in credit from institutions.