Moreover, incentives to reduce the ratio of NPLs to outstanding loans, which could have been done quickly had it been possible to set up, with public backing, a company to manage such assets, are now provided by the 5  measures introduced by the Italian authorities over the last two years.
Although household debt, as a percentage of disposable income, has been improving consistently since reaching a peak in the first quarter of 2009 and the ability of households to service their debt has remained strong given an extended period of low interest rates, the household sector is now faced by a rising interest rate cycle and higher cost of living.