For Italian banks such assets are considerable, owing to the restrictions in Italy on the tax deductibility of loan losses, which it is to be hoped will soon be revised.
On this front the impact assessment will make it possible to evaluate alternative options, such as deducting only part of these assets, so as to attenuate the competitive distortions created by the differences in national tax treatments. Italian banks, which tend to engage to a greater extent in traditional forms of intermediation, have a low leverage by international standards.