The current decline in national house prices and the preceding run-up were, of course, unusually large even by historical standards.
In most of the large euro area countries, in particular, France and Italy, banks continued to report a narrowing of margins on average loans in net terms. Margins on riskier loans widened in net terms in Spain and Germany. Furthermore, bank lending rates for the private sector remained on a downward trend in the second quarter of 2016 and in July (see Figure 16).