Nevertheless, overall, real GDP in the euro area increased by only 0.5% in 2003. Annual HICP inflation slowed down slightly in 2003 to 2.1% on average, from 2.3% on average in both 2001 and 2002.
It is also no coincidence that with breakdowns in other parts of the marketplace, a substantial portion of regional and community banks have increased their loans to businesses. During 2009, 45 percent of the banks with under $ billion in assets increased their business lending.