Unlikely-to-pay exposures account for half of total NPLs; swift action is required to maximize their value, especially by means of restructuring agreements to set firms back on the path to sustainability. The 2015 reform introduced tools that give financial creditors far greater room for manoeuvre under these agreements; they should be exploited fully.
The debate at European level is focusing again on the practicality of setting up a specialized company for managing the non-performing assets with public support to reduce the weight of these exposures in banks’ balance sheets and to develop the NPL market.