The high level of NPLs, a weakness more typical of the Italian banking system than of others, is being assessed by market analysts as well. Some describe the phenomenon as still growing, others suggest that it is underestimated in publicly available data. Given the importance of the questions raised, they deserve satisfactory answers.
4  In Italy, the deterioration in loan quality, aggravated above all by the long recession, recently came to a halt. The ratio of the stock of NPLs to outstanding loans began to diminish at the end of last year.