European banks' bad loans
have increased to about 1 trillion euros, more than double their
level in 2009, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on
Thursday.
The IMF said levels of non-performing loans (NPLs) in the
euro area had risen to 932 billion euros at the end of 2014, or
about 9 percent of the region's gross domestic product (GDP).
High levels of NPLs are limiting credit supply and holding
up funds that could otherwise be used for lending.
"The levels are particularly high in the south of the euro
area," the IMF said.
It added that a reduction of bad loans was crucial to help
revive credit supply, above all for small and medium-sized
companies that are more reliant on banks for financing.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © Copyright ANSA
