SC Lowy makes bet on Italy’s banking system

Firm buys Credito di Romagna stake; European banking licence adds to appeal.

A quiz question: which European country had the largest pool of non-performing loans in the third quarter of 2017, the last time the European Central Bank released overall data? 

Greece would be an obvious guess, but its banking system is too small. Minus points for Portugal, Ireland and Cyprus, which are even smaller. The correct answer is Italy, which had €195.97 billion of non-performing loans outstanding, around 11.85% of total loans in the country. 

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Michel Löwy

This depressing data point might make Italy’s banking system seem like the last place a foreign investor would want to park their cash.

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