Credit lines remained stable and indebtedness continued to be low. The risks for Italian alternative investment funds are also limited; leverage is on average lower than that of similar European funds and indebtedness towards banks is low. Real estate funds, which are mainly active in the commercial sector, are among the most leveraged funds.
Although the likelihood of a sharp fall in prices in this market segment is much lower in Italy than in other European countries, a further decline in the value of commercial real estate would reduce the quality of bank lending to these intermediaries.