Access to bank financing for companies - 2024-Q3

Published on the 8th of November 2024

Two-thirds of companies report stable or decreasing cost of credit
  • Loan applications have been stable for several quarters for SMEs, with a slight decrease this quarter for MTEs.

  • Credit obtention rates have remained high for MTEs and SMEs, and is rising for the cash credits.

  • The proportion of companies reporting falling overall credit costs has continued to rise.
NB: bank credits alone are examined in this survey; MTEs have access to private financing options, which provides them with financing solutions not covered by this survey.

1. Requests for investment loans in % of companies
2. Grants for investment loans in % of companies having applied for this type of credit (fully fulfilled or at least at 75%)
3. Requests for new cash credits in % of companies
4. Grants for cash credits in % of companies having applied for this type of credit (fully fulfilled or at least at 75%)
Data not seasonally adjusted, in %; excluding use of previously granted credit lines
Scope: companies with autonomy to decide on credit applications: SME = 10 - 249 employees; MTE = 250 - 4999 employees



New investment loans
  • The proportion of companies having applied for new investment loans (see graph 1) fell slightly by 1 point to 18% in Q3 2024 for SMEs, and by 5 points to 22% for MTEs.

  • Obtention rates for these loan applications were very high for both SMEs and MTEs: 96% of SMEs and 97% of MTEs having applied for a loan obtained all or more than 75% of it (see graph 2).
New cash credits
  • The proportion of companies having requested new cash credits (see graph 3) remained low for SMEs, and down 3 points for MTEs to 6%.

  • Obtention rates for this type of credit have risen for SMEs and MTEs: 83% of SMEs obtained all or more than 75% of their credit, compared with 78% last quarter, and 96% of MTEs applying for credit obtained all or more than 75%, compared with 90% last quarter (see graph 4).
Additional information
1 - Credit lines

For operating needs, SMEs and MTEs can apply (usually at the beginning of the year) for credit lines giving them drawing rights over the year.

  • Requests have been stable for several quarters for all company sizes, with a third of SMEs and almost half of MTEs having made a line request in the last 12 months.

  • These requests were still largely met (fully or more than 75%), in more than 95% of cases for SMEs and MTEs.

  • 54% of SMEs drew on credit lines this quarter, a stable proportion compared with the previous quarter. 57% of MTEs drew on their credit lines, down 4 points on Q2 2024.

Requests for new credit lines over the last 12 months (in % of companies) and mobilization of credit lines over the last 3 months (in % of companies having been granted new lines)


2- Supply rate for equipment loans

Among investment loans, equipment loans are intended to finance intangible or tangible assets, excluding real estate.

  • Obtention rates for equipment loans remains high for all company sizes: 90% of SMEs and 89% of MTEs which have applied for this type of loan have obtained it (fully or more than 75%).
Grants for equipment loans in % of companies having applied for this type of credits (fulfilled at least at 75%)


3- Evolution of the cost of credit
  • In Q3 2024, three quarters of SMEs and MTEs reported that the overall cost of credit had remained stable or fallen.

  • More specifically, the proportion of companies reporting an increase in the overall cost of credit is down again on the previous quarter (by 38 points for SMEs and 54 points for MTEs).

  • Consistently, more companies are reporting a fall in the overall cost of credit this quarter. The proportion of MTEs reporting a fall in the overall cost of credit is now higher than the proportion reporting an increase.
Share of companies reporting an increase or a decrease in the cost of credit (in % of companies)


More information on time series, calendar, methodology

All statistical time series published by the Banque de France can be accessed on Webstat Banque de France

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STAT INFO - 3nd quarter 2024

Access to bank financing of companies

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Updated on the 8th of November 2024