Euro area bank lending survey
The euro area bank lending survey (BLS) provides information on bank lending conditions in the euro area. It supplements existing statistics with information on the supply of, and demand for, loans to enterprises and households. The BLS provides input to the assessment of monetary and economic developments carried out by the Governing Council of the European Central Bank (ECB), which feeds into the monetary policy decision-making process.
The BLS is conducted four times a year. It is usually published in January, April, July and October.
Release calendarFor the media
In the current bank lending survey, conducted between 15 September and 2 October 2023, banks report on changes in bank lending conditions and loan demand from firms and households in the third quarter of 2023, and on their expectations for the fourth quarter of 2023.
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Find out more about the latest survey results on bank lending conditions and loan demand from firms and households in the euro area. The report also covers several ad hoc questions on topics of interest for monetary policy, such as bank funding.
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About the survey
The euro area bank lending survey (BLS) was launched by the Eurosystem in 2003. Its main objective is to enhance the Eurosystem’s knowledge of bank lending conditions in the euro area. It provides information on the lending policies of euro area banks and supplements existing statistics on loans and bank lending rates with information on the supply of, and demand for, loans to enterprises and households. The BLS provides input to the Governing Council’s assessment of monetary and economic developments, which feeds into the monetary policy decision-making process.
The BLS is conducted four times a year and addressed to senior loan officers at a representative sample of euro area banks, comprising around 150 institutions representing all euro area countries, and takes into account the characteristics of the respective national banking structures.
Questionnaire and glossary
This glossary defines the most important terminology used in the bank lending survey (BLS) and has been put together to assist respondent banks in filling out the questionnaire.
The BLS contains 22 standard questions on past and expected credit market developments. Past developments cover the previous three-month period, while expected developments focus on the following three-month period. Overall, the BLS includes 18 backward and four forward-looking questions to capture both recent and expected developments. The BLS also includes an open-ended question with space for participating banks to respond.
In addition, it may contain ad hoc questions on specific topics of interest.
The questions are classified according to the two borrower sectors that are the focus of the survey, i.e. enterprises and households. Loans to households are broken down into loans for house purchases, on the one hand, and consumer credit and other lending, on the other.
Results by country
Availability in the Statistical Data Warehouse (SDW)
| Country | Diffusion indices | Net percentages | Link to NCB website publication |
|---|---|---|---|
| BE | YES | YES | National Bank of Belgium |
| DE | YES | YES | Deutsche Bundesbank |
| EE | YES | YES | Eesti Pank |
| IE | YES | YES | Central Bank of Ireland |
| GR | YES | YES | Bank of Greece |
| ES | YES | YES | Banco de España |
| FR | YES | YES | Banque de France |
HR |
YES |
YES |
|
| IT | YES | YES | Banca d'Italia |
| CY | YES |
YES |
Central Bank of Cyprus |
| LV | YES | YES | Latvijas Banka |
| LT | YES | YES | Lietuvos bankas |
| LU | YES | YES | Banque Centrale du Luxembourg |
| MT* | YES | YES | Central Bank of Malta |
| NL | YES | YES | De Nederlandsche Bank |
| AT | YES | YES | Oesterreichische Nationalbank |
| PT | YES | YES | Banco do Portugal |
| SI | YES | YES | national BLS results published only on SDW |
| SK* | YES |
YES |
Národná banka Slovenska |
| FI | YES | YES | national BLS results published only on SDW |