The annual rate of change of loans to non-financial corporations (adjusted for loan sales and securitisation) was –2.7% in September, compared with –2.9% in August. Overall, weak loan dynamics for non-financial corporations continue to reflect primarily their lagged relationship with the business cycle, credit risk and the ongoing adjustment of financial and non-financial sector balance sheets.
At the same time, the October 2013 bank lending survey tentatively signals a stabilisation in credit conditions for firms and households, in the context of still weak loan demand. Since the summer of 2012 substantial progress has been made in improving the funding situation of banks.