Policy Briefs

L. Codogno, M. Monti – Italy’s recent support to its banks: The start of a new wave of public intervention in the EU

The banking crisis in Europe has three distinct waves. The first wave was pure financial contagion from the sub-prime crisis in the US to toxic assets held in European bank portfolios. The second wave was equally intense, occurring amid the negative feedback loop between banks and sovereigns.
The third wave is the lagged impact of the economic crisis on the quality of loan portfolios, which has just triggered intervention by the Italian government and may require additional public money across the EU.
The public funds injected recently is only a fraction of what was injected at the outset of the crisis. However, more than nine years since the sub-prime crisis started, it is striking that the EU is still facing banking problems.

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