Italy suspends mortgage payments during coronavirus outbreak

Mortgage payments are being suspended in Italy as the country struggles to contain the growing spread of the coronavirus, Italy’s deputy economy minister said on Tuesday.

Speaking on Italian state radio, Laura Castelli said the government had worked with the country’s banks on a mortgage deferral that would also include other private bills.

“Yes, that will be the case, for individuals and households,” Castelli said in an interview in response to a question about a suspension of mortgage payments.

Castelli, a Five Star Movement politician who is part of the country’s left-wing coalition government, did not comment on how long the mortgage exemption would last.

Read more: Global stock prices recover after coronavirus lockdown begins across Italy

The Italian banking association ABI had already announced on Monday that a clear majority of the country’s banks would offer a debt moratorium to households and small businesses affected by the consequences of the coronavirus.

Castelli’s statement came around the same time that Italian Economy Minister Stefano Patuanelli confirmed that his government would approve around €10 billion (£9 billion) in measures to contain the economic impact of the coronavirus.

Late Monday, Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte expanded nationwide emergency measures against the coronavirus, forcing tens of millions of Italians into a curfew.

Read more: Deutsche Bank and ECB confirm coronavirus diagnosis among employees in Frankfurt

Stock markets recovered slightly on Tuesday as hopes grew that governments and central banks around the world would spend hundreds of billions of dollars to prevent the global economy from sliding into recession.

Italy, where the total number of coronavirus cases has now exceeded 9,000, has been criticized for its response to the outbreak.

Walter Ricciardi, a member of the World Health Organization’s European Advisory Committee, described it as a “big mistake” that the Italian government did not impose quarantine measures earlier.

There are now well over 1,000 cases of the virus in France, Germany and Spain each. In Switzerland, the Netherlands and Great Britain there are around 300 cases each.

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