of the total population in the same age bracket ; data for 2020. figure 10 share of population with more than basic digital skills ( per cent ) italy france germany spain eu - 28 16 - 24 25 - 34 35 - 44 45 - 54 55 - 64 65 - 74 total ( 16 - 74 ) source : eurostat. note : data for 2019. banca d ’ italia the governor ’ s concluding remarks annual report 2020 figure 11 gap between italian and other ssm significant banks ( weighted averages ; percentage points ) ratio of non - performing loans to total loans - 2 - 2 - 4 - 6 - 4 common equity tier 1 ratio - 6 source : consolidated supervisory reports and european central bank. note : gaps between italian ‘ significant ’ banking groups and those of the other single supervisory mechanism member countries ; non - performing loans as a share of total loans ( net of loan loss provisions ) ; end - year data ; the data for 2020 are provisional. figure 12 assets under management ( per cent ) assets under management as a share of households ’ financial assets main financial assets of institutional investors in 2020 italy france germany euro area italy france italian government securities investment funds securities issued by resident firms germany euro area foreign government securities securities issued by non - resident firms source : bank of italy and european central bank. notes : ( 1 ) the assets under management figure includes shares in investment funds, insurance policies, pension funds and supplemental pensions plans, excluding severance pay ; includes residents ’ holdings of foreign funds ; the comparison between the different countries is affected by heterogeneities in the classification of severence pay. ( 2 ) excludes asset management companies. the governor ’ s concluding remarks annual report 2020 banca d ’ italia printed by the printing and publishing division of the bank of italy rome, 31 may 2021 printed on eu - ecolabel certified paper ( registration number fi / 011 / 001 )

liquidity needs of businesses to be met : loans increased by more than 8 per cent, compared with a contraction of 2 per cent in the years of the global financial crisis and of 7 per cent during the european sovereign debt crisis. the governor ’ s concluding remarks annual report 2020 banca d ’ italia most of the budgetary support measures targeted the hardest hit sectors. the government provided a considerable amount of resources : subsidies, tax credits and contributions to businesses and the self - employed exceeded €20 billion in 2020 ; tax deferrals and reductions were approved worth more than €25 billion. the support has continued this year with resources comparable to those deployed in 2020. taken together, the measures succeeded in combating rising inequality ( figure 5 ) ; they also prevented healthy firms, severely impacted by the pandemic, from being forced to shut up shop. as uncertainty subsides, public intervention must become more selective, focusing on the sectors that will continue to struggle due to the public health crisis and seeking to avoid subsidizing companies that have no chance of survival, while guaranteeing support for their workers. production is now regaining momentum. over the coming months, as the vaccination campaign proceeds, the recovery could accelerate. according to our latest surveys, firms are already planning a decisive increase in investment ; households appear more cautious, but with the normalization of the health situation and less uncertainty, the high levels of savings accumulated could gradually translate into a rise in consumption. on average this year, gdp could expand by more than 4 per cent. firms the production system has faced the crisis triggered by the pandemic in better shape than it was in during the financial crisis. since then, weaker firms have exited the market and resources have been reallocated, albeit insufficiently and with delays, thereby leaving only the most competitive firms with the soundest financial structures to succeed, especially in the manufacturing industry. the covid - 19 crisis has caused a drastic drop in production and revenues, creating imbalances for the firms hit hardest by the restrictions on activity, thus worsening the situation for those businesses that were already weak prior to the pandemic. it has been a significant, but not generalized, phenomenon : in 2020, the financial balance of the sector as a whole ( i. e. the difference between the change in financial assets and that in financial liabilities ), fuelled in part by the support measures, was positive by €38 billion, three times more than the year