Bank Lending Survey (BLS): Q3 2026

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Bank Lending Survey (BLS): Q3 2026

27/10/2026 - Press Releases

- The credit standards and overall terms and conditions for loans to non-financial corporations (NFCs) remained unchanged in the third quarter of 2026. The overall demand for corporate loans remained almost unchanged.

- The credit standards for household loans remained unchanged for housing loans and consumer credit in the third quarter of 2026. The overall terms and conditions tightened somewhat for housing loans, whereas for consumer loans eased somewhat during the same period. The demand for housing loans remained almost unchanged, while demand for consumer loans remained unchanged in the third quarter of 2026.

Loans to non-financial corporations

In the third quarter of 2026, the credit standards for loans to non-financial corporations (NFCs) remained unchanged compared with the second quarter of 2026 (see Chart 1), in line with the expectations expressed in the previous quarterly survey round. Banks expect credit standards to remain also unchanged during the fourth quarter of 2026.

The overall terms and conditions for loans to NFCs remained unchanged in the third quarter of 2026 compared with the previous quarter.

During the third quarter of 2026, the overall demand for loans to NFCs remained almost unchanged with slight decrease (see Chart 2). In the fourth quarter of 2026, banks expect the demand from NFCs to remain almost unchanged with slight increase.

In the third quarter of 2026, the ratio of rejected applications for loans to NFCs remained unchanged compared with the previous quarter (see Chart 3).

Loans to households

In the third quarter of 2026, the credit standards for housing and consumer loans to households remained unchanged compared with the second quarter of 2026 (see Chart 1), while they are also expected to remain unchanged during the fourth quarter of 2026. The overall terms and conditions for housing loans tightened somewhat, due to non-interest rate charges during the third quarter of 2026. The terms and conditions for consumer and other credit loans eased somewhat, due to the reduction in banks’ margins on both average and riskier loans during the third quarter of 2026.

The demand for housing loans remained almost unchanged, while it remained unchanged for consumer loans during the third quarter of 2026 (see Chart 2). The demand for housing and consumer loans is expected to remain unchanged during the fourth quarter of 2026.

During the third quarter of 2026, the ratio of rejected applications for housing and consumer loans remained unchanged (see Chart 3).

Chart 1 - Credit Standards (Average)

Chart 2 - Demand (Average)

Chart 3 - Share of rejected applications (Average)

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The next Press Release on the “Bank Lending Survey” for the fourth quarter of 2026 will be published on 2 February 2027 in accordance with the Advance release calendar published on the Bank of Greece website.

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