The state-owned Cooperative Central Bank (CCB) needs to reduce its stock of delinquent loans substantially, over the next months, in order to become more attractive to investors ahead of a much-needed capital increase, an economist said.
The lender, which cannot rely on more state aid after receiving €1.7bn from the taxpayer – in the form of two successive capital injections in 2014 and 2015 – might need to increase its provisions for bad loans next year when it adopts new accounting standards, said Leslie Manison, a former senior economist at the...