the participating banks are properly defined ex ante. whether or not there is a real determination to proceed down this path must be clarified without delay : uncertainty slows the conclusion of the transactions under way and discourages those that could be completed in the coming months. in 2016 the flow of non - performing loans declined, as did the ratio of non - performing loans and that of bad loans to total lending. the ongoing recovery supports this trend. the sales currently scheduled by the major groups could raise the reduction in the net bad loan ratio significantly. the large stock and low market prices of non - performing exposures reflect italy ’ s excessive time to recovery, which is far longer than in the other main european countries. at the end of 2015 recovery times averaged almost eight years for bankruptcies and over four years for property foreclosures. legislative measures taken in recent years go in the right direction but must be strengthened to ensure a sufficient shortening of recovery times. it would be especially useful to increase the degree of specialization in the handling of insolvency cases, providing for the centralization of the more complex proceedings, including by reviewing the territorial jurisdiction of italy ’ s courts. for their part, the banks must make the best possible use of the instruments already available in the form of out - of - court agreements with firms on debt restructuring and the transfer of real estate pledged as collateral. as recent analyses by the bank of italy have shown, incentives for the disposal of non - performing loans would derive from the removal of the regulatory disincentives that impede the sale of large amounts of these assets by banks that use advanced internal models for calculating capital requirements. sufficient and timely information makes the management of non - performing assets less costly, increasing their value ; harmonization at european level would facilitate cross - data analysis, with positive effects on the prices and speed of the transactions. the new reporting on bad loans that we introduced last year is a step in this direction, inducing banks to manage these exposures more actively and effectively. supervisors are mindful of the need to refrain from imposing blanket sales of non - performing loans, which de facto lead to a transfer of resources banca d ’ italia the governor ’ s concluding remarks annual report 2016 from italy ’ s banks to a handful of specialized investors. however, as indicated by the recent guidelines issued at european level and drawn up with the active contribution of the bank of italy, the largest intermediaries ( classified as ‘ significant ’ within the single supervisory

into a tremendous opportunity to learn about all these great canadians and to give their stories some well - deserved and long - overdue recognition. the second thing about this note, of course, was the ultimate choice of viola desmond, the successful businesswoman from nova scotia ’ s black community, who took a stand for human rights, and against discrimination, in the 1940s. with this inspired and inspiring choice, the note ’ s themes of human rights and social justice fell naturally into place. and what better embodiment of this theme than this remarkable location — the canadian museum for human rights. i am so pleased that this building as it stands, and everything it stands for, are being recognized on this note. the choice of viola desmond has touched off conversations about human rights across canada, as well as celebrations of the life of this remarkable woman, especially in the north end of halifax, where she lived and grew her business. i know events are taking place in halifax to honour this great canadian, where people can spend their brand - new vertical notes and even 1 / 2 bis central bankers'speeches see an original musical production about her. right here in this museum, there is an exhibit where you can learn more about viola. and starting at the end of the month, our own bank of canada museum in ottawa will have a special exhibition — a noteworthy woman — that will explore the story of viola and this new vertical note. the choice of viola desmond brought her story of dignity, courage and human rights to the fore. and, it brought one other remarkable person to our attention. that is, of course, viola ’ s incomparable sister, wanda robson. you may know that wanda was pursuing her dream of getting a university degree at a time in life when most of us would be planning for a quiet retirement. in her studies, wanda heard her sister ’ s story being told by her professor, dr. graham reynolds, who is also with us today. at that point, wanda realized the importance of sharing her sister ’ s story with the world. it was wanda who worked tirelessly to make sure that her sister ’ s story wouldn ’ t be forgotten. and wanda, we all owe you a debt of gratitude because, thanks to your hard work, your sister ’ s story won ’ t be forgotten. 2 / 2 bis central bankers'speeches