They may continue to rise in the coming months, although to a lesser extent than in previous crises. This is indicated by an average increase in the amount of loan loss provisions on performing loans of almost one third, which reflects the deterioration of credit risk; this rise is accompanied, however, by considerable differences in the ways banks classify and value loans.
Reasons for the drift and corrective measures put in place A lot has been written about the reasons for this apparent “drift”, over the past decade or so in the financial industry’s standards.