Turning to the monetary analysis, broad money (M3) growth increased to 8.9% in May 2020, from 8.2% in April. Strong money growth reflects bank credit creation, which continues to be driven to a large extent by the acute liquidity needs in the economy. Moreover, high economic uncertainty is triggering a shift towards money holdings for precautionary reasons.
German banks have $ billion of claims on Italian residents, compared with Italian banks’ exposure of $ billion to German residents; French banks have $ billion of assets in respect of Italy, compared with Italian banks’ $ billion in France. These figures are mainly a reflection of the important production and above all marketing presence of German and French firms in Italy.