Italy PM sees measures to help banks offload bad loans soon

MILAN (Reuters) - The Italian government will take concrete measures to help domestic lenders offload bad loans in coming weeks, Prime Minister Matteo Renzi said on Monday.

Speaking at an event at Milan's stock exchange, Renzi said the measures would help banks manage bad loans and also put them on a level playing field with lenders in other countries.

"I think in the next few weeks, there will be a move on bad loans and in general on instruments that will give our banking system the same regulatory conditions as other European countries will take shape," he said.

Italy has been working on a project to set up a state-sponsored vehicle to pool banks' soured debts but progress has been slow because of European state aid rules.

The government is also planning to introduce tax credits and streamline bankruptcy procedures to help lenders deal with some 350 billion euros of bad debts.

(Reporting by Silvia Aloisi)