In the first few months of 2005, accommodating the strong demand of households and the more moderate demand of firms, it grew at a rate of more than 8 per cent, about  BIS Review 52/2005  1  two percentage points higher than the euro-area average.
Fueled by low interest rates, the increase in credit to households has stabilized at around 15 per cent since mid-2004. A decisive factor in all the regions of Italy has been the expansion in loans for house purchases.