There is an indicator of the crisis from corporate balance sheets: loan installments have increased by more than 1 billion euros. From January 2023 to January 2024, non-performing bank loans attributable to businesses grew by nearly 7%, rising from €17.3 billion to €18.5 billion, a sign that customers are finding it difficult to manage their financial debt with rising rates. It is one of many negative consequences on the credit market after a year of ever-rising borrowing costs reaching 4.5%: bank loans to businesses and households also plummeted by €43 billion, at a rate of more than 3 billion per month, during the period under review; and net non-performing loans of lending institutions rose by more than 16%. Mortgages declined, down nearly 3 billion (-0.64%), and personal loans also fell, down more than 14 billion (-10%); while consumer credit continued to rise, with a positive change close to 5 billion (+4%). This is according to the monthly report on credit produced by the Unimpresa Study Center, according to which total financing rose from €1,329 billion to €1,283 billion. According to the study, which processed statistical data from the Bank of Italy, net of securitizations, banks' lending to individuals has plummeted by €49.1 billion (-3.25%) over the past year, dropping from €1,325.9 billion in January 2023 to €1,282.9 billion in January 2024.
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