“The financial system is stabilised, but there a challenge still exists in [the shape of] non-performing loans,” Centeno told the closing session of the Banking Summit, a sector conference, in Lisbon.

According to the minister, “since June of 2016 the amount of non-performing loans has fallen at a high rate” of more than €2 billion per quarter, but “there is still work to do to converge” to average levels of bad loans in Europe.

Also on the subject of loans, Centeno warned banks to make a “prudent assessment of risk” when granting loans. He called on sector supervisors to ensure that institutions do not follow policies that increase the “systemic risk”, by using “all micro and macro prudential instruments to assure financial stability.”

Centeno dedicated much of his speech to government policy, describing the country’s economy as “a success story in Europe” and saying that it is enjoying “the period of greatest growth this century”, thanks to rising exports and investment.

He also highlighted the labour market, which he said had added a net 288,000 jobs in the past two years, bringing down the unemployment rate. This, he added, is reflected in salaries, “which are growing at all salary levels.”