These actions have started to bear fruit, as shown by the continued reduction of the NPL stock in line with the targets set. Non-performing loans amounted to EUR 81.8 billion at the end of December 2018, down by EUR 25.4 billion from their peak in March 2016. However, the NPL ratio remained high, at 45.4% in December 2018.
At a time when the U.S. economy has made important progress on employment and inflation, in both Europe and Japan output or inflation, or both, remain well below desired levels. As a result, forecasters expect short-term yields in these economies to remain near zero for years to come.