The audit process involved examinations of individual loan files, based on institution-specific samples, distinguishing for example between situations where a bank could be perceived as still relying on short-term solutions, and where a bank seemed to be relying on what might be called “bulk campaigns” (offering similar solutions across the board to a range of cases).
Today, high debt levels are still holding back the recovery and non-performing loans weigh heavily on the balance sheets of many of our banks. Headwinds have also emerged – this time from the external side – as a result of weakening global economic activity. Since 2014, net exports have made practically no contribution to euro area growth.