Non-performing loans (NPL) ratio favorably declined to 8.9 percent as of end-December 2005 from 11.0 percent last year and from a peak of 13.4 percent at end-September 2002. Likewise, NPA ratio went down to 12.5 percent from 15.9 percent last year. The industry’s strengthening balance sheet also reflected a steady increase in the loss provisioning for bad assets.
Last year, the Euro Retail Payments Board (ERPB) – which I chair as a representative of the ECB – decided to set up a dedicated working group to analyse the adequacy of cash services and to preserve cash infrastructure in the euro area.