Analyses carried out by ECB staff5 suggest a rather limited contribution of credit supply conditions to euro area economic activity between 2007 and the first quarter of 2008. By the fourth quarter of 2008, however, the impact of credit supply conditions appears sizeable.
As a result, in July the 3-month annualized growth rate of loans to firms turned positive (0.7 per cent, from –0.2 per cent) for the first time since November 2011 and the growth rate of credit to households further increased.