On the basis of the available data, there have been no signs of a credit crunch or even indications of a deceleration in the rate of loan credit growth to the private sector which has remained strong, in particular the pace of credit expansion to non-financial corporations.
It is, of course, true that we have witnessed a tightening of financing conditions and credit standards in the euro area. However, the increase in the average real cost of financing has been relatively modest over the past few months, although credit spreads for parts of the corporate sector have widened substantially.