Italian banks sold NPLs last year at 17pc of gross book value

MILAN: The price of non-performing loans sold by Italian banks last year was 17 percent of gross book value on average, up from 15 percent the previous year, a study by the Bank of Italy showed.

For NPLs backed by real estate guarantees, the price stood on average at 26 percent of gross book value in 2017 and at 10 percent for other operations, the central bank added.

The Bank of Italy also said that the recovery rates on bad loans improved to 26 percent from 23 percent last year for those sold off by the banks and to 44 percent from 43 percent for those managed in-house.