The Euro Area Bank Lending Survey - Third Quarter of 2026 (European Central Bank)

Summary

• Euro area banks reported a net tightening of credit standards for loans or credit lines to firms of 9% in the third quarter of 2026, up from 7% in the second quarter.p.3
• Credit standards were unchanged for housing loans with a net percentage of 0%, while credit standards for consumer credit tightened further to 14%.p.3
• Demand for housing loans contracted strongly with a net percentage of -27%, while demand for consumer credit decreased slightly at -2%.p.4
• Rejection rates for loan applications rose across all loan categories, with net increases of 10% for consumer credit and 5% for both corporate and housing loans.p.4
• Banks reported a net deterioration of 9% in access to retail funding, marking the strongest deterioration since the series started in 2011.p.4
• Digital assets made a small positive contribution of 2% to banks' business strategy over the past 12 months, which is expected to rise to 12% over the next 12 months.p.5

Key insights

1. The share of rejected loan applications increased most significantly for consumer credit, recording a net percentage of 10%.p.4
2. Deterioration in access to retail funding reached a net percentage of 9%, its highest level since the start of the BLS series in 2011.p.4
3. Credit standards tightened more for loans to SMEs (11%) than for loans to large enterprises (8%) in the third quarter of 2026.p.7
4. The dampening effect of the general level of interest rates on corporate loan demand was the strongest recorded since the first quarter of 2024.p.14