ITALY

摘要

Economic growth risks in the Euro bloc, and notably Italy, have escalated in the wake of the UK's Brexit vote on June 23. The struggles in Italy's banking sector have risen to the fore (with bad loans giving banks little capacity to lend), and several banks have suffered stock market losses amid the uncertainty. Brussels has warned the prime minister against the idea of pumping public funds into the undercapitalised banks, which would defy European regulations and undermine their credibility. Economic fragility may be exacerbated by Italy's own referendum on constitutional reform in October. Prime Minister Renzi has put his future on the line on reforms he views as critical to creating political stability. Commentators are wary that defeat could ignite turmoil in the financial markets and spread contagion through the Euro area. Italian GDP growth estimates have fallen to 0.9% for 2016 and 2017, respectively, emphasising the government's difficulty in steering the economy away from years of stagnation.