The Countercyclical Capital Buffer (CCyB) rate for the fourth quarter of 2021 has been set at zero per cent

Summary

The Bank of Italy has decided to keep the countercyclical capital buffer rate at zero per cent for the fourth quarter of 2021.

In the second quarter of 2021, the credit-to-GDP ratio decreased, reversing the previous trend. The deviation from the long-term trend of the total credit-to-GDP ratio became negative by about 3 percentage points, if calculated based on the model developed by the Bank of Italy. Similar findings come from the bank credit-to-GDP ratio.

The dynamics of the credit-to-GDP gap were influenced by the strong growth of GDP in the denominator. Furthermore, the growth in credit to the private sector weakened, owing to the slowdown in loans to firms, which was only partially offset by the increase in loans to households.

The other indicators, which were influenced by the measures taken to counter the pandemic crisis, indicate a slight improvement in the macro-financial conditions of the Italian economy. The NPL ratio decreased for firms, mainly owing to sales of NPLs, while it remained stable for households; the unemployment rate, thanks to the decrease in the number of job seekers following the rise in employment, remained at pre-pandemic levels; real property prices increased slightly.