Retail Banking in Italy - COVID-19 Impact Snapshot

Summary

The Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) outbreak, dubbed COVID-19, is first and foremost a human tragedy, affecting millions of people globally. The contagious Coronavirus, which broke out at the close of 2019, has led to a medical emergency across the world, with the World Health Organization officially declaring the novel Coronavirus a pandemic on March 11, 2020.

Fears surrounding the impact of COVID-19 have already significantly impacted the global economy, with most countries across the world registering declines in their economic growth for the year to date. Many economists and institutions have cut their forecasts and many experts are predicting the potential onset of recessionary environments.

A similar trend was seen in Italy, as economic growth in the country dipped in the first quarter of 2020. The decline had an adverse impact on all sectors, including banking. Italy, which was one of the worst-affected European countries, is now on a path to recovery with fewer positive cases being reported, businesses gradually restarting their operations, and domestic travel resuming thanks to the government’s stringent measures.

This report focuses on the impact of the Coronavirus outbreak on the economy and the retail banking industry in the Italy. Based on our proprietary datasets, the snap shot provides a detailed comparison between pre-COVID-19 forecasts and revised forecasts of total mortgage, consumer, credit card loan balances as well as deposit balances in terms of value and growth rates. It also offers information on measures taken by the government to combat Coronavirus.

Scope

• Italian banks are facing pressure to their earnings and asset quality as a result of the socioeconomic shock to the country and the resulting effects on their operating environment from the spread of coronavirus. Given the expected scale and length of the disruption to Italy’s economy, it’s no surprise that key banking indicators will suffer.
• The Bank of Italy’s measures to ease the impact of COVID-19 provided temporary relief to the people who were recently left unemployed. For instance, to protect consumers’ interests, the Italian government has temporarily suspended all mortgage payments and other medium- and long-term debt payments. This will help to keep the number of impaired loans to a minimum, but pressure on maintaining profitability will be on lenders for many months following.

Reasons to Buy

• Make strategic decisions using top-level revised forecast data on the Italian retail lending and deposit industry.
• Understand the key market trends, challenges, and opportunities in the Italian retail lending and deposit industry.
• Receive a comprehensive insight into the total consumer loans in Italy, including mortgages, personal and credit card loans as well as retail deposits balances.