Financing of non-financial corporations 2021Apr

Published on 9 June 2021

Non-financial corporations debt continued to grow in April

In April, financing of non-financial corporations rose by 6.4% over one year, after 9.9% in the previous month. This smaller increase compared to 2020 reflected a base effect, linked to a sharp rise in debt in April 2020. Indeed, the financing increase over two years stood at 16.2%, close to the 17.0% increase between March 2019 and March 2021.

Since March 2020, the rise in non-financial corporations debt was globally accompanied by an increase in their cash flow.

After a low level in March, the average cost of non-financial corporations financing increased by 10 basis points in April, reaching 0.99%.
Financing of non-financial corporations
(Gross stocks and flows in billions of euros, growth rate and interest rate in %)
Outstanding amount Annual net issuance Annual growth rate Two-year growth rate (compared to 2019) Average cost of new financing
Mar-2021 Mar-2021 Mar-2021 Mar-2021 Mar-2021 Apr- 2021 Mar-2021 Apr- 2021
Financing of NFCs 1,905 115 9.9 6.4 17.0 16.2 0.89 0.99
- Of which : bank loans 1,208 85 9.9 7.5 17.1 16.3 1.04 1.21
- Of which : market financing 697 30 10.0 4.5 16.7 16.0 0.61 0.62
in euros 595 31 12.5 5.5 20.3 19.3
in currencies 102 -1 -2.4 -0.8 -0.2 0.4
Annual growth rate, by type of financing (in %)
Average cost of financing (in %)
Two-year growth rate (in %)
Composition of non-financial corporate debt
Non-financial corporate debt in this « Stat Info » refers to debt securities issues (bonds and negotiable debt securities) subscribed by residents and non-residents as well as to the credits granted by resident credit institutions.

Negotiable debt securities include short-term commercial papers (less than one year) and medium-term negotiable notes. Further details on loans to non-financial corporations is available in the « Stat Info » referring to loans to non-financial corporations :

https://www.banque-france.fr/en/statistics/loans/loans/loans-non-financial-corporations

Overall non-financial corporate debt also includes bank loans from non-resident credit institutions. This measure can be found in the « Stat Info » related to non-financial sector debt :

https://www.banque-france.fr/en/statistics/savings/financial-accounts/financial-accounts
The average cost of bank loans to non-financial corporations is computed using the monthly interest rate applied by French banks. This indicator only covers euro-denominated loans with a term of at least one year and with an initial amount of at least one million euros. It excludes revolving term facilities and overdratfs.

The average cost of market financing is calculated on the basis of month-end actuarial rates of return of alive securities. It only covers euro-denominated securities with an initial maturity longer than one year and with a fixed coupon rate. A specific calibration process using the yield curve is performed to align different maturities with a constant 5-year maturity. The average cost of market financing calculation methodology excludes extreme values.

The average cost of bank loans and the average cost of market financing cannot be directly compared since they often differ in their maturity horizon.


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Financing of non-financial corporations STAT INFO - April 2021
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Updated on 8 June 2021