The sale of the four banks on the market is at an advanced stage and adheres to strict criteria of transparency, impartiality and competition; the process is scheduled to be completed during the summer. The assignee of the bad debts is preparing the data necessary for their competitive sale. This could contribute to the development of a market for non-performing loans in Italy.
The contagion effect of the financial crisis  A special feature of the financial crisis of the past two years has been the contagion effect, or the spill-over of the economic problems of a few important emerging market economies to other countries, and eventually to the world economy.