Abi warns bad loans continue to rise

(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. Business failures also continue to increase, according to the latest data from Cerved, an information consultancy that focuses on financial services. It said that a total of 15,651 businesses opened bankruptcy proceedings in 2014, an increase of 10.7% compared to 2013.
    On a regional basis, business failures rose almost everywhere in Italy by double digits, except in the northeast where a small increase of 1.7% was reported.
    Among the highest rates were found in the central area of the country, it said.