Bank of Italy Governor Fabio Panetta
said Wednesday that the weakness of economic activity in the
eurozone is "more persistent than we expected" as he addressed
the executive committee of Italian banking association ABI via
video link.
"Recovery driven by consumer spending has not happened," he
said.
He added that "after two quarters of zero growth in the eurozone
and tension in the manufacturing sector, the labour market is
starting to show signs of weakening".
He said that a fall in the amount of money banks are lending was
"mainly due to weak demand".
But Panetta also stressed that "when there is a persistent,
prolonged reduction in credit levels, we have to start being
more careful and ask ourselves questions".
He referred specifically to access to credit for
small-and-medium-sized enterprises as they are "very important
in Italy in terms of employment".
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