* Set to ease up to 25 bln euros in sales in 2021 - KPMG
* Italy refuses to extend measure to unlikely-to-pay (UTP) loans
ROME, April 2 (Reuters) - Italy expects the European Commission to approve this month a one-year extension of a state guarantee scheme that has played a key role in freeing Italian banks from bad debts, two sources close to the matter told Reuters.
The move would extend the scheme introduced in 2016 until May 2022 and comes as banks are expected to face a surge in problem loans once governments withdraw measures deployed to keep firms afloat through the pandemic.
Italy has guaranteed more than 170 billion euros ($199.87 billion) in debt that banks extended to virus-stricken firms.