To complete insolvency proceedings in Italy takes 1.8 years, while in Ireland it takes just 0.4 years. 5 Pan-European initiatives could also play a role in reducing the legacy stock of NPLs, for example by adopting a centralised approach to speed up the pace of NPL write-offs. The second area is advancing with the agenda to revive high quality securitisation in Europe.
Securitisation is where banks and capital markets meet – a well-functioning asset-backed security (ABS) market means more bank lending. There are many issues involved in reiving the market, which I have discussed at length elsewhere, 6 but one of the most important is improving information for investors.