{"id":31138131,"date":"2026-03-11T09:58:26","date_gmt":"2026-03-11T08:58:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fma.gv.at\/?p=31138131"},"modified":"2026-03-12T12:52:58","modified_gmt":"2026-03-12T11:52:58","slug":"fma-rapid-reduction-of-problematic-lending-strengthens-banks-financing-power-and-resilience","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fma.gv.at\/en\/fma-rapid-reduction-of-problematic-lending-strengthens-banks-financing-power-and-resilience\/","title":{"rendered":"FMA: Rapid reduction of problematic lending strengthens banks’ financing power and resilience"},"content":{"rendered":"

Non-performing loans (NPLs)<\/strong> tie up capital, impact results and restrict banks’ ability to grant new loans to healthy businesses and households. The longer problematic loans remain in balance sheets, the greater the burden on their capital; institutions with high NPL ratios are also required to submit plans for reducing them. A speedy reduction of NPLs frees up capital, stabilises returns, and improves the lending channel’s ability to function.<\/p>

In the latest edition of its series “Let’s talk about supervision”<\/strong> (Reden wir über Aufsicht), the Austrian Financial Market Authority<\/strong> (FMA) highlights the most pressing issues: In Austria, NPL portfolios have a strong concentration in commercial real estate financing<\/strong>. The NPL ratio is largest in this business area, at 8.4% (Q3 2025), or €8.6 billion in absolute terms. A speedy reduction in this area is hampered by large individual exposures, complex projects and lengthy recovery processes. However, choosing to wait instead makes it more expensive as additional provisions and impairments also tie up capital.<\/p>

The Supervisor’s Expectation:<\/h3>
    \n
  1. Clear objectives and plans:<\/strong> Ambitious and realistic targets with deadlines – all the way down to the most important individual cases (restructuring, utilisation, sale, write-offs).<\/li>\n\n\n
  2. An honest appraisal of costs and resources:<\/strong> Realistic, verifiable cost estimations, as well as sufficient staffing and organisational resources to implement plans.<\/li>\n\n\n
  3. Implementation and Management:<\/strong> Reliable responsibilities, ongoing monitoring as well as transparent reporting to the management body.<\/li>\n<\/ol>

    Early and decisive action<\/strong> reduces losses, lowers capital deductions, and makes banks more resilient – in turn strengthening lending and supporting the real economy, as the latest edition of the FMA’s publication series for supervised entities “Let’s talk about supervision” states.<\/p>

    This edition and previous editions of “Let’s talk about supervision” can be found on the FMA website<\/a>.<\/p>

    Journalists may address further enquiries to<\/h2>

    Boris Gröndahl (FMA Media Spokesperson)<\/p>

    Telephone: +43\/(1)249\/59-6010<\/a><\/p>

    Mobile: +43 676 8824 9995<\/a><\/p>

    E-Mail: boris.groendahl@fma.gv.at<\/a><\/p>

    <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Reducing NPLs quickly reduces the burden on capital and helps the real economy<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":443385,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[80],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-31138131","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-press-release"],"yoast_head":"\nFMA: Rapid reduction of problematic lending strengthens banks’ financing power and resilience - FMA \u00d6sterreich<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fma.gv.at\/en\/fma-rapid-reduction-of-problematic-lending-strengthens-banks-financing-power-and-resilience\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"FMA: Rapid reduction of problematic lending strengthens banks’ financing power and resilience - FMA \u00d6sterreich\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Reducing NPLs quickly reduces the burden on capital and helps the real economy\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.fma.gv.at\/en\/fma-rapid-reduction-of-problematic-lending-strengthens-banks-financing-power-and-resilience\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"FMA \u00d6sterreich\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-03-11T08:58:26+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-03-12T11:52:58+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.fma.gv.at\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/RwueA-Teaser-Webseite.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1320\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"440\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Michael Bailey\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@FMA_AT\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@FMA_AT\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Michael Bailey\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.fma.gv.at\\\/en\\\/fma-rapid-reduction-of-problematic-lending-strengthens-banks-financing-power-and-resilience\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.fma.gv.at\\\/en\\\/fma-rapid-reduction-of-problematic-lending-strengthens-banks-financing-power-and-resilience\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Michael Bailey\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.fma.gv.at\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/0fc93858fe7814eedc8002775131ee91\"},\"headline\":\"FMA: Rapid reduction of problematic lending strengthens banks’ financing power and resilience\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-03-11T08:58:26+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-03-12T11:52:58+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.fma.gv.at\\\/en\\\/fma-rapid-reduction-of-problematic-lending-strengthens-banks-financing-power-and-resilience\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":338,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.fma.gv.at\\\/en\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.fma.gv.at\\\/en\\\/fma-rapid-reduction-of-problematic-lending-strengthens-banks-financing-power-and-resilience\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.fma.gv.at\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/01\\\/RwueA-Teaser-Webseite.png\",\"articleSection\":[\"Press Release\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.fma.gv.at\\\/en\\\/fma-rapid-reduction-of-problematic-lending-strengthens-banks-financing-power-and-resilience\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.fma.gv.at\\\/en\\\/fma-rapid-reduction-of-problematic-lending-strengthens-banks-financing-power-and-resilience\\\/\",\"name\":\"FMA: Rapid reduction of problematic lending strengthens banks’ financing power and resilience - 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