Euro Area Bank Lending Survey

Data Credit/Debt

Source: European Central Bank
Source Link: https://www.ecb.europa.eu/
Frequency: Quarterly
Next Release(s): February 3rd, 2026 4:00 AM

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Euro area banks reported broadly unchanged credit standards for loans to firms in Q2 2025 (-1% net), after slight tightening in Q1 (+3%), with expectations flat for Q3.
- Credit standards tightened slightly for housing loans (+2%) and more notably for consumer credit (+11%), driven by risk perceptions and lower bank risk tolerance.
- Loan demand rose slightly for firms (+2%), more strongly for housing loans (+37%), and marginally for consumer credit (+2%), helped by falling interest rates.
- Terms eased for firm loans, stayed flat for mortgages, and tightened for consumer credit, particularly due to higher margins on riskier loans.
- Rejection rates increased slightly for firms and more sharply for consumer credit, while remaining stable for housing loans.
- For Q3 2025, banks expect credit standards to ease for housing loans (-3%) but tighten further for consumer credit (+4%), with loan demand expected to rise for firms (+7%) and housing loans (+21%).
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Euro area banks reported a small net tightening of credit standards for loans to firms (3%) in Q1 2025, a smaller percentage than in Q4 2024 (7%).
- Credit standards eased for housing loans (-7% in Q1 2025 vs 1% in Q4 2024) and tightened slightly for consumer credit (3% in Q1 2025 vs 6% in Q4 2024). Both measures noted lower net tightening in Q1 2025 than in Q4 2024.
- Loan demand from firms declined (-3%) after a brief recovery, due mainly to weaker working capital needs and geopolitical uncertainties.
- Housing loan demand surged (+41%) and consumer credit demand increased moderately (+10%), both supported by declining interest rates and rising consumer confidence.
- Banks eased terms and conditions for loans to firms and for mortgages, but tightened them for consumer credit, particularly via stricter requirements on loan maturity and size.
- The share of rejected applications rose for SMEs, was stable for large firms and consumer credit, and decreased slightly for housing loans.
- Banks expect further tightening in Q2 for all loan types (5% for firms, 7% for housing, 7% for consumer credit), but also expect loan demand to rise (+4% for firms, +20% for housing loans, +6% for consumer credit).
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Bank Lending Survey: Q4 2024

Euro area banks reported a renewed net tightening in credit standards for loans to enterprises with a net 7% of banks reporting tighter standards in Q4 2024, up from 0% in Q3 2024. Similarly, consumer credit standards were tightening slightly at a net 6% (unchanged from Q3). Standards for loans to households for home purchases were relatively unchanged on the other hand, at 1%, back to a slight tightening after a slight easing in the last three quarters.

Loan demand from both firms and households improved but was still weak. Loan demand from firms was supported mainly by declining interest rates, with fixed investment having a still-muted impact after its small positive contribution in the previous quarter. With the same tailwinds, demand for home loans was bouncing as well.

Banks’ credit standards tightened further in all main economic sectors in the second half of 2024, especially in commercial real estate (CRE), wholesale and retail trade, construction and energy-intensive manufacturing. Banks also reported a net decrease in loan demand in CRE, construction and energy-intensive manufacturing. For the first half of 2025, banks expect a further net tightening of credit standards in most economic sectors, except for services. They expect muted loan demand in all sectors but residential real estate, for which they expect a moderate increase.

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