Lending to euro zone firms rose in May from the previous month, but was still at a lower level than a year ago, the European Central Bank said today.
ECB figures showed corporate borrowing rose €18 billion in May compared to April, but was still 2.1 per cent weaker over the year.
Loans to households rose €9 billion month-on-month in May, helping loans to the private sector to an overall annual growth rate of 0.2 per cent, from 0.1 per cent in April.
"There is no explicit indication that a pick-up in lending is taking place at this stage and that is obviously an indication that firms remain slightly reluctant to get to banks and apply for loans and eventually start the investment process," said Silvio Peruzzo at Royal Bank of Scotland.
M3 money supply, a measure of cash readily available to spend which the ECB sees as a leading indicator for inflation, fell 0.2 per cent on an annual basis, against expectations of a 0.3 per cent rise.
Also at -0.2 per cent, the three-month moving average of M3 growth remains well below the ECB's reference rate of 4.5 per cent, above which the bank sees dangers to medium-term price stability.
Reuters