(Finance) – Theoutlook on the banking sector Italian “remains positive for 2024. Interest rates are moving – probably quite soon now – downwards. But pay attention to the fact that Current interest rates are not high, are at the bottom of the historical analysis, because what needs to be seen is not the nominal interest rate but the real interest rate. And the real interest rate net of inflation is in the 2% area, and it cannot be said that this is a high interest rate.” He told Finance Giovanni BossiCEO and founder of Cherry Bank, on the sidelines of the annual congress of Assiom Forex, the association of financial market operators, underway in Genoa.
“It seems to me that for banks the climate remains positive for 2024 – he explained – I don’t think there will be any particular tension regarding impaired loans generated by the banking system, because we do not see – despite the economic slowdown – a strong loss of asset quality on the horizon. Rather, we will have to think about the fact that there are over 300 billion euros of impaired loans which are no longer on the banks’ balance sheets but which must be managed in the interests of the system, certainly of the credit operators but also of Italian families and businesses” .
According to Bossi, “the large banks today have absolutely fine balance sheets and indeed they have room – if necessary – to absorb some deterioration in credit quality, which I repeat is not on the horizon or at least not in a significant way, but the problem is helping families and businesses to get back on track with delayed payments.
(Photo: Giovanni Ricciardi)