Bank Lending Survey (BLS) – Q1 2018
24/04/2018 - Press Releases
Bank Lending Survey (BLS) (1,2) – Q1 2018
Loans to non-financial corporations
In the first quarter of 2018, credit standards and the terms and conditions for loans to non-financial corporations (NFCs) remained unchanged (see Chart 1) compared with the fourth quarter of 2017, in line with expectations expressed in the previous quarterly survey round. Moreover, banks expect that credit standards will in general remain broadly unchanged during the second quarter of 2018, although credit standards for long-term loans will tighten to a certain extent.
The demand for loans to NFCs remained unchanged during the first quarter of 2018 (see Chart 2), although it increased somewhat in the case of loans to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The demand for loans to NFCs is expected to remain unchanged during the next quarterly survey round, although it is expected to increase somewhat further in the case of loans to SMEs.
The share of rejected applications for loans to NFCs remained unchanged during the first quarter of 2018 (see Chart 3).
Loans to households
In the first quarter of 2018, credit standards for loans to households remained unchanged compared with the fourth quarter of 2017 (see Chart 1), in line with expectations expressed in the previous survey round. The demand for consumer credit remained broadly unchanged compared with the fourth quarter of 2017, whilst for housing loans it increased somewhat (see Chart 2). Banks expect that credit standards for loans to households will remain unchanged during the second quarter of 2018, while the demand for household loans is expected to remain broadly unchanged.
The terms and conditions for loans to households remained also unchanged in the first quarter of 2018.
The share of rejected applications for housing and consumer loans remained unchanged during the first quarter of 2018 (see Chart 3).
(1) For more information on the Bank Lending Survey , see
http://www.bankofgreece.gr/Pages/en/Statistics/monetary/BankLendingSurvey.aspx.
(2) Information regarding the BLS methodology is available at: http://www.bankofgreece.gr/Pages/en/Statistics/monetary/BankLendMeth.aspx.