Insight - Banks should brace themselves for some bad news on bad loans

For the previous six years, the European Central Bank had applied pressure on the industry to build up regulatory capital and cut the number of non-performing loans.

The discovery of two seemingly effective vaccines has raised hopes that the world will soon return to normal. For Europe’s banking system, however, this may not be an easy transition.

Bankers are bracing themselves for a big increase in non-performing loans after this year’s deep recession.