Between the third and fourth quarters of 2021, the level of non-performing loans (NPL) was reduced from 2.17% (€401 billion) to 2.06% (€374 billion) of total outstanding loans, the lowest level recorded since the first statistics were published in 2015, the ECB, acting as the single banking supervisor in the euro area, said on Friday 8 April.
The highest level of NPLs was observed in Greece (7.04% of total), Cyprus (3.97%), Portugal (3.81%) and Spain (3.05%).
Nevertheless, the ECB notes that, for the first time in 2021, the level of bank loans placed in ‘stage 2’ of loans in arrears, but less than 3 months (‘stage 3’), increased over the same period from 8.85% to 9.14% (stock of €1,261 billion compared to €1,215).
Among the banking groups directly supervised by the ECB, the aggregate Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) ratio remained stable, stabilising in the fourth quarter of last year at 15.48%. It was highest in Estonia (25.91%) and lowest in Spain (12.8%).
See banking statistics: https://aeur.eu/f/18a (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)