Brussels, 11/06/2014 (Agence Europe) - Yves Mersch, a member of the European Central Bank's executive board, says that progress has been made in correcting bank balance sheets but there are “lingering concerns” about asset quality and low profitability at some banks. He was speaking at the Brussels Economic Forum on Tuesday 10 June (see EUROPE 11097).
“It would be daring” to say that a turning point had been reached on non-performing loans, said Mersch, adding that many banks had not yet written off many of their huge debts.
Maarten Verwey, Deputy Director General for economic and monetary affairs at the European Commission, said that progress in managing toxic loans was mixed and lending was still low in the EU28 and the eurozone but the picture was fragmented and it did not seem to be a problem across the board, but warned that this was not the time for complacency.
Jaime Saenz de Tejada, Chief Financial Officer of BBVA bank, said that banks needed to win back trust on three fronts - providing certainty to bondholders that they will be able to become profitable, regaining the trust of policy-makers and regaining the trust of supervisors. (EL)