Nevertheless, the survey has also shown that 43% of euro area SMEs that had applied for a bank loan reported a deterioration in the availability of loans in the first half of 2009. This seems, in particular, point to increases in charges, fees and commissions or tighter procedures, collateral requirements and other types of required guarantees.
Interestingly, large firms were somewhat more negative in their assessment of bank loan availability, with nearly 50% reporting a deterioration. Still, I believe, it has become clear that firms’ access to finance came certainly under pressure during the current financial and economic crisis. Looking further ahead, we expect that the growth of loans to enterprises is likely to moderate further before starting to recover.