The official site of Italy's central bank

Financial Stability Report No. 5

Beginning with this issue of the Financial Stability Report, the spreadsheets for the figures for which permission to publish has been obtained can be downloaded from the Bank of Italy's website.

The world recovery is weak and not broadly based

The global economic picture is still uncertain. There has been perceptible improvement in the United States and Japan, thanks in part to support from monetary policy. The euro area continues to be weighed down by uncertainty over the development of the sovereign debt crisis.

In Europe, significant risks for financial stability persist

The crisis of the banking system in Cyprus and the political uncertainty in Italy played a role in halting the improvement in financial conditions in Europe. The repercussions on the markets were nevertheless cushioned by the progress on fiscal consolidation made in a number of countries, by the advance towards a single banking supervisory system and by the enduring stabilizing effects of the approval by the European Central Bank of the Outright Monetary Transactions programme last September. In recent weeks the tensions have subsided to some extent.