Italian NPL collections in March rose 45% month on month, consistent with previous years. But while monthly volumes bounced back from a poor February, they were still 43% below the three-year March average.

The Spanish economy’s growth continues to outpace the euro area’s due to improving labour markets, strong tourism receipts and ample EU funds. Still, further fiscal consolidation and reforms are needed to improve Spain’s resilience to potential shocks.

Wednesday, 28 May, 3 pm CEST

The robust solvency of European banks and their capacity to absorb credit losses from ordinary profitability provide important buffers against credit deterioration at a time when US trade policy is impacting Europe’s growth and interest-rate outlook.

European households will see housing affordability deteriorate as the supply-demand gap persists and prices continue to rise. Stimulus measures are urgently needed to boost housing supply in European countries where the situation is particularly acute.

Political uncertainty in Romania is complicating fiscal consolidation, raising borrowing costs and delaying reforms linked to EU funding while shifts in United States trade and security policy add further challenges to the fiscal and growth outlooks.

Scope Ratings calls for comments on its Retail and Wholesale Rating Methodology by 26 May 2025. The update strengthens, refines and further clarifies Scope’s analytical approach. The methodology might have a limited negative impact on two issuers ratings.

The first quarter of 2025 saw the highest quarterly issuance of European CMBS since the global financial crisis but refinancing risk for securitised loans is still high, while US tariffs could affect industrial, logistics and retail assets.

Italy’s economy is set to grow more slowly in 2025-26 given US tariffs and delays in recovery-plan investments. Still, reforms and continuing EU-fund deployment should support medium-term growth after 2026.

Five years after the pandemic and the collapse of the output agreement between OPEC and Russia sent oil prices into free fall, oil markets face another shock, this time from changes in US trade policy and in the OPEC+ group’s production limits.