PRESS RELEASE

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Italy: Non-Performing Loans Sell-off Will Destroy €63 Billion of Value, Destroying the Wealth of Families and Businesses

July 21, 2017 (EIRNS)—Through its criminal management of the so-called Italian banking crisis, the European Union is forcing a massive destruction of Italian families wealth. A large chunk of non-performing loans (NPLs) is insured by properties as collateral, both houses and industrial buildings. By forcing banks to early liquidate those NPLs, the European Central Bank is further collapsing the value of properties, which is already at 50% its 2011 value.

It has been calculated that €88 billion nominal value of those properties are on the market, but this value has already dropped to €44 billion and in the end, they won’t be sold over €25 billion. "In sum: €63 billion are potentially at risk to be cancelled," Il Sole 24 Ore wrote yesterday.

This plan is going full speed ahead. Unicredit’s CEO Jean-Pierre Mustier announced that Unicredit has almost completed the first phase of selloff of a chest of €17.7 billion of NPLs, at an average price of 13%, to international vulture funds. Next on line are €28 billion bad loans of Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena.

It is "a full-fledged economic hara-kiri," wrote Il Sole.