Persistently high non-performing exposures (NPLs) in several European countries pose significant challenges to financial stability and are likely weighing on credit growth and economic activity. This paper, which summarizes a detailed IMF analysis (IMF SDN/15/19), examines the structural obstacles that discourage European banks from addressing their problem loans. It argues that a comprehensive approach comprising […]
Wolfgang Bergthaler
Wolfgang Bergthaler is senior counsel at the International Monetary Fund’s Legal Department, where he works on a broad range of legal issues including IMF financing operations, surveillance, exchange system, and financial sector issues, as well as sovereign debt, corporate and household insolvency, and judicial reform issues. Before joining the IMF in 2006, he practiced as an attorney in international law firms in Europe. Wolfgang is a graduate of Karl-Franzens Universitaet Graz (Austria) and Georgetown University Law Center (US).