Italy bank association says 'clear' ECB loan rules not legally binding

ROME (Reuters) - The European Central Bank has changed tack on guidelines to manage banks' bad loans and the plan does not impose legal obligation on lenders, Italy's banking association said on Friday.

The ECB has softened its framework to deal with non-performing loans after a previous version led to fierce criticism, especially in Italy, where the bad loan burden is particularly heavy.

"It is clearly spelled out that this addendum is not a generalized measure, it does not give banks any legal obligation," Giovanni Sabatini, director general of Italian banking association ABI, said at a conference in Rome.

(Reporting by Stefano Bernabei, writing by Isla Binnie, editing by Steve Scherer)

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