“Although in 2021 the main Italian credit institutions recorded important profits and in some cases even billionaires, starting from November 2020 bank loans to businesses have returned to decline”. The harsh accusation comes from the Mestre CGIA according to which the effect of the measures implemented by the Conte government has already been exhausted and in the last year there has been a decrease in loans of 9 billion.
On the other hand, with the “Cura Italia”, “Liquidity” and “Guarantee Italy” decrees, between the end of February, the month that preceded the outbreak of the pandemic, and November 2020 – the month in which the highest peak recorded in the last 18 months at 741 billion – “bank lending before insolvencies had undergone a significant surge that allowed us to reverse a negative trend that had lasted continuously since August 2011. In the most difficult period of the pandemic gross bank loans disbursed to businesses increased by over 40 billion. – explains the CGIA – Subsequently, the flow of loans to businesses has returned to decline: between November last year and August 2021 (latest updated data), the flow contracted by 22 billion, bringing the total stock of loans at 732.2 billion. In the last year alone (August 2020 to August 2021) the reduction was € 8.9 billion. If we extend the period of observation of this phenomenon to the last 10 years, the collapse was very heavy: -267.6 billion euros “.
Among the most important regions of the country, Lazio is the reality that recorded the most significant contraction in percentage terms both in the last year (August 2020 to August 2021) and in the last decade (August 2011 to August 2021). In the first case, the reduction in gross bank loans to businesses fell by 6.2 billion (-7.8 percent), in the second case by 42.2 billion (-36.5 percent).
At least in the last year, highlights the studies office of the CGIA of Mestre, “it is difficult to understand the reasons for this trend: despite the public guarantees put in place and refinanced also for 2022, it seems to understand that following the restrictive measures with regard to credit assessment introduced at European level after the 2008-2009 and 2012-2013 crises, for credit institutions providing liquidity to businesses is no longer a big deal. If we add to this the interest rates that for years have been kept at levels close to zero and the increasingly high investigation costs, lending money, especially to micro and small businesses, is no longer convenient for many banks “.