On Tuesday 11 July, the European ministers of the economy and finance adopted conclusions establishing an action plan to tackle non-performing loans (NPL), at the meeting of the ‘Economic and Monetary Affairs’ Council in Brussels.
According to a senior European official, the NPL ratio represents 6.7% of EU GDP, or nearly €1 trillion. What sets this phenomenon apart in Europe, compared to the United States or Japan, for instance, is its permanence, and the level reached in certain...