Bank Lending Survey (BLS): Q1 2021
20/04/2021 - Press Releases
Bank Lending Survey (BLS) [1, 2]: Q1 2021
Loans to non-financial corporations
In the first quarter of 2021, the overall credit standards for loans to non-financial corporations (NFCs) remained unchanged (see Chart 1) compared with the fourth quarter of 2020, in line with the expectations expressed in the previous quarterly survey round. Moreover, banks expect that the overall credit standards will, in general, remain unchanged during the second quarter of 2021.
The overall terms and conditions for loans to NFCs remained unchanged compared with the fourth quarter of 2020.
The overall demand for loans to NFCs remained almost unchanged, even though the demand for loans to small to medium sized enterprises increased somewhat due to the increased financing needs for inventories and working capital (see Chart 2). During the next quarterly survey round, the overall demand for both short-term and long-term loans to NFCs is expected to increase somewhat.
In the first quarter of 2021, the ratio of rejected applications for loans to NFCs remained basically unchanged compared with the previous quarter (see Chart 3).
Loans to households
In the first quarter of 2021, the credit standards as well as the terms and conditions for loans to households remained unchanged compared with the fourth quarter of 2020 (see Chart 1), in line with the expectations expressed in the previous quarterly survey round.
The demand for housing and consumer credit increased somewhat compared with the fourth quarter of 2020 (see Chart 2). Τhe improvement in consumer confidence contributed to the increase in demand. During the next quarterly survey round, the demand for housing and consumer credit loans is expected to remain basically unchanged.
Banks expect that credit standards will also remain unchanged during the second quarter of 2021.
The ratio of rejected applications for loans to households remained basically unchanged during the first quarter of 2021 (see Chart 3) compared with the previous quarter.
Chart 1 - Credit Standards (Average)
Chart 2 - Demand (Average)
Chart 3 - Share of rejected applications (Average)
Note: The next Press Release on the “Bank Lending Survey” for Q2 2021 will be published on 20 July 2021, in accordance with the Advance release calendar on the Bank of Greece website.