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Euro currency bills are pictured at the Croatian National Bank in Zagreb, Croatia, May 21, 2019. Antonio Bronic, Reuters Image used for illustrative purpose.
Loans by Italian banks to businesses continued to fall in January, at a faster pace than the previous month, Bank of Italy data showed on Monday.
Bank credit to businesses declined 4.0% year-on-year, the Bank of Italy said, following a 3.6% drop in December.
Deposits stood at 2.39 trillion euros ($2.61 trillion), down from 2.42 trillion in December.
Italian residents' deposits with domestic banks fell 2.0% year-on-year after a 3.1% decline in December, the data showed.
Banks increased their bond issuance, with sales up 20.7% yearly in January from a 19.3% rise the previous month. ($1 = 0.9141 euros) (Reporting by Antonella Cinelli, editing by Giulia Segreti)
