Irish banks were still carrying non-performing loans (NPLs) worth more than €50bn at the end of 2015 according to the European Central Bank (ECB). This figure represents 20% of all bank loans in Ireland - that's well above the average of 7% across the euro zone. Ireland's reading comes after loans with a face value of €74bn were transferred to the National Asset Management Agency (NAMA) in the wake of Ireland's financial crash. The report notes that the country has taken "comprehensive actions" to address this problem. These figures show that the NPL ratio for households was 18% - this rose to 26% for non-financial corporations - 44% for SMEs - and 44% for commercial real estate. The ECB's report highlights major discrepancies between how NPLs are defined and dealt with across the monetary union. Policy makers in Frankfurt are working on proposals to standardise the treatment of NPLs. "There are of course some differences but some of those relate to the fact that different countries are in a different places re' the macroeconomic cycle," said Sharon Donnery from Ireland's Central Bank, who chaired the ECB’s working group. "The purpose of the stock take is to identify those and allow people to consider whether those issues should be addressed or not," he continued according to The Financial Times.
Over €50bn worth of non-performing loans (NPLs) still remain on Irish bank books, according to new figures by the European Central Bank (ECB), despite €74bn worth of face-value loans being transferred from Irish banks to the National Asset Management Agency , and a further € 40bn reduction in NPLs in the end of 2013 following the two years . The ECB agrees that the scale of NPLs in Ireland "remains high" and noted the "significant time lag" between a solution being agreed and a reduction being recorded. There are also no specific rules in Ireland , the ECB noted, regarding the National Asset Management Agency write-offs.