A European Central Bank survey found a net 42% of euro area firms reported higher bank loan rates in April-June 2026, highlighting borrowing pressure before new bank lending data Tuesday.
The net reading was 26% in January-March. Each figure subtracts the share of firms saying rates fell from the share saying they rose; neither represents the interest rate businesses paid.
The ECB’s firm survey also put its bank-loan financing-gap indicator at a net 3% in April-June, up from a net 2% in the preceding quarter. The survey-based indicator tracks firms’ assessments of changes in their need for bank loans and the availability of those loans. It does not measure a shortfall in the amount of credit supplied.
The indicator stood at a net 5% for small and medium-sized enterprises and a net 1% for large firms. The higher reading for smaller businesses shows that the reported imbalance between financing needs and availability was more pronounced for that group.
A separate ECB survey asked banks about their lending standards during the same April-June period. A net 7% reported tightening standards for business loans. The ECB identified higher perceived risks and lower tolerance for risk as the main drivers of that earlier tightening.
The two surveys describe different sides of business lending: firms report their financing needs and the terms they encounter, while banks report changes in their lending standards. Firms facing higher loan rates bear higher borrowing costs, but the surveys do not show that every firm faced the same change.
The ECB is scheduled to release its next bank lending survey Tuesday, Oct. 27. Its next monetary policy decision is due Thursday, Oct. 29, at 9:15 a.m. ET.
