Lending to the resident private sector in Spain continued to shrink in 2014, in line with the need for the deleveraging of the Spanish economy; that said, the rate of decline of lending eased (from 8.3% in 2013 to 6.4% in 2014). At firms not engaging in construction and real estate activities, credit fell much less, shifting from a negative rate of 9% in 2013 to a still-negative rate of 1.5% in 2014. The figures available for 2015 suggest that the year will conclude with credit running at a rate of change very close to zero or in positive territory for the first time since 2009. One key aspect in 2014 was the fact that non-performing loans (NPLs) to the resident private sector fell both in absolute terms (by more than € billion) and in terms of the NPL ratio, which declined by almost 1 pp to 12.9%. In 2015 to date, this trend is holding, as NPLs have fallen to 12.3%. Resident private-sector refinanced exposures have fallen by 4.5% and account for 14% of the total, a proportion still highly influenced by forborne exposures to real estate development and construction companies. It is also worth pointing out that households and non-financial corporations are changing the composition of their savings in response to the very low interest rate environment, meaning that bank deposits have declined while units in investment funds have increased significantly.
8/9  As this is my last appearance before the Senate as Governor of the Banco de España, and to conclude, I should like to express my gratitude for the consideration that has always been extended to the Bank and to me in this chamber, and for the quality of the interventions and questions raised on which I have had to comment. I have always thought, and have said so on different occasions, that the lower and upper houses are the “natural fora” in which an institution such as the Banco de España should preferentially express itself, cooperating and contributing, as best it can, to parliamentary functions. Thank you for your attention. 9/9