In Italy, banks and other financial intermediaries may only deduct loan writedowns up to 0.3 per cent of total lending. Writedowns above that amount are deductible over 18 years. France, Germany and the United Kingdom, by contrast, allow the full and immediate deduction of all value adjustments entered in the accounts.
This way firms could issue shares and debt across the union, to a much greater extent than they do now, as a result of the level playing field for all stakeholders (the shareholders, the issuers, etc., ed.).