Euro-area adjusted loan growth accelerated slightly to 3.2% year-on-year in April, up from 3.1% in March, based on figures released by the European Central Bank. The marginal rise in lending activity was led by an uptick in corporate loans, while household lending remained broadly stable.
Corporate lending expanded by 3.4% year-on-year in April, compared with 3.2% in March. Jefferies noted that the improvement in corporate credit was largely supported by stronger activity in France, Italy and Germany. By contrast, household lending growth was unchanged at 3.0% year-on-year.
Breaking down performances among the largest economies in the eurozone:
- France recorded corporate loan growth of 4.2% year-on-year in April, up from 3.7% in March.
- Italy saw corporate lending increase to 3.4% year-on-year from 3.1% in March.
- Spain's corporate loan growth eased slightly to 4.5% year-on-year, compared with 4.7% the previous month.
- Germany's corporate lending contracted by 0.1% year-on-year in April, an improvement from a 0.3% decline in March.
On the household side, growth rates varied across major economies. Germany's household lending growth was steady at 2.0% year-on-year. France's household lending ticked up to 1.4% from 1.3%. Italy's household borrowing rose 2.6% year-on-year, a slight decrease from 2.7% in March. Spain continued to exhibit comparatively stronger household lending growth at 5.1% year-on-year, up from 5.0% in March.
At the country level, Portugal, Greece and Ireland posted the highest overall lending growth rates in the eurozone, while France, Austria and Germany were among those with the weakest growth rates.
Deposit dynamics differed from lending trends. Aggregate deposit growth across the euro area slowed to 4.4% year-on-year in April, down from 5.2% in March. This deceleration was driven in part by corporate deposits, which fell to 4.5% year-on-year from 4.9% the prior month. Household deposits, by contrast, inched up to 3.7% year-on-year from 3.6%.
Looking at specific lending categories, consumer credit growth eased to 6.0% year-on-year in April, down from 6.2% in March. Mortgage lending remained stable at 3.2% year-on-year.
The ECB data present a picture of modestly stronger corporate borrowing alongside steady household credit and easing deposit accumulation, according to the published statistics.