adminlending survey.
The net percentage of banks expecting to tighten their loan criteria for businesses and households was unchanged at 7,0 percent in the second quarter compared with the first quarter, the ECB said.
But the proportion was expected to decline to 1,0 percent in the third quarter.
At the same time, the survey found that banks’ access to retail and wholesale funding had continued to improve in the second quarter of 2013 as the eurozone sovereign debt crisis abated, the ECB said.
However, “in the third quarter of 2013, euro area banks expect a marginal deterioration in funding conditions for most market segments, except in the case of retail funding”, it cautioned.
On the demand side, “developments in the second quarter of 2013 were mixed”, the ECB found.
On the one hand, fewer euro area banks reported a decline in the demand for loans. On the other hand, this net percentage remained below the historical average.
Among a wide range of emergency anti-crisis measures, the ECB has pumped unprecedented volumes of liquidity into the financial system to avert a dangerous credit crunch.
But banks have been slow to lend that money on to businesses, particularly in the countries hardest-hit by the crisis.
“Looking forward to the third quarter of 2013, banks expect the net decline in demand for loans across all loan categories to continue,” the ECB said.
Berenberg Bank economist Christian Schulz said the ECB’s bank lending survey “confirms that the financial sector is showing signs of healing”. — AFP.
Online Reporter