Financing of entreprises - 2025-01
Published on the 13th of March 2025
The cost of bank loans to NFCs continued to decrease
- In January 2025, financing to nonfinancial corporations (NFCs) increased by +1.8% year-on-year (after +1.5% in December 2024), driven by bank loans, which rose by +2.3% (after +2.1% in December) thanks to still dynamic equipment loans (+3.8% after +3.9%). Debt securities financing increased to a lesser extent (+1.0%, after +0.3% in December 2024).
- The average interest rate on new bank loans fell sharply in January to 4.02% (after 4.18% in December), while that on debt securities remained almost stable (3.48%, after 3.49% in December).
1 - Overview of NFCs : Outstanding amounts and flows in € Bn, annual growth rate and cost in %
(non-seasonally adjusted) ![]()
| Jan-2025 (p) | Annual growth rate | Cost (annual Interest rate) | |||||||||
| Outstanding
amounts |
Transactions
(cumulative over 12 month) |
New business
(cumulative over 12 month) |
Jan- 2024 | Nov- 2024 | Dec-2024 (r) | Jan-2025 (p) | Jan- 2024 | Nov- 2024 | Dec-2024 (r) | Jan-2025 (p) | |
| NFC's global financing | 2,078.7 | 37.5 | 682.4 | 1.1 | 1.4 | 1.5 | 1.8 | 4.30 | 3.88 | 3.94 | 3.84 |
| Loans | 1,372.2 | 30.3 | 325.3 | 1.3 | 1.7 | 2.1 | 2.3 | 4.73 | 4.18 | 4.18 | 4.02 |
| Investment | 991.6 | 4.1 | 3.0 | 3.5 | 3.6 | ||||||
| equipment | 624.5 | 4.4 | 3.2 | 3.9 | 3.8 | ||||||
| real-estate | 367.1 | 3.5 | 2.8 | 2.9 | 3.2 | ||||||
| Treasury | 305.3 | -7.4 | -3.6 | -2.9 | -2.9 | ||||||
| Other lending | 75.3 | 6.4 | 6.7 | 4.1 | 6.9 | ||||||
| Loans up to €1 million | 115.1 | 4.75 | 4.28 | 4.17 | 4.03 | ||||||
| Loans over €1 million | 210.2 | 4.73 | 4.11 | 4.18 | 4.01 | ||||||
| Securities other than shares | 706.6 | 7.1 | 357.1 | 0.6 | 1.0 | 0.3 | 1.0 | 3.47 | 3.32 | 3.49 | 3.48 |
(r): revised data ; (p): provisional data
Monthly changes in outstanding loans by purpose (seasonally adjusted data in € Bn)![]()
Cost (all maturities combined) by financing sources (in %) ![]()
2- Loans to firms by size ![]()
- In January 2025, the growth rate of outstanding loans remained stable for SMEs and companies of unspecified size at +1.0%. It decreased for mid-sized companies (ISEs), falling from +1.0% to +0.5%, and increased for large companies, rising from +1.9% to +2.1%.
- The average cost of new bank loans continued to decline (4.02% in January), and fell below 4% for Large Companies, SMEs and companies of unspecified size.
| Outstanding
amounts (in Bn €) |
Annual growth rate in % | Cost in % (annual interest rate) |
|||||||
| Jan-2025 (p) | Jan- 2024 | Nov- 2024 | Dec-2024 (r) | Jan-2025 (p) | Jan- 2024 | Nov- 2024 | Dec-2024 (r) | Jan-2025 (p) | |
| All firms | 1,372.2 | 1.3 | 1.7 | 2.1 | 2.3 | 4.73 | 4.18 | 4.18 | 4.02 |
| Of which: | |||||||||
| - SME and unspecified size | 565.9 | 1.6 | 1.1 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 5.00 | 4.15 | 4.13 | 3.95 |
| - ISE | 386.0 | 3.4 | 0.9 | 1.0 | 0.5 | 4.32 | 4.30 | 4.27 | 4.14 |
| - Large firms | 206.6 | -3.3 | -0.2 | 1.9 | 2.1 | 4.74 | 3.99 | 4.13 | 3.98 |
(r): revised data ; (p): provisional data
Note on methodology:
The scope of SME credit outstandings includes companies of indeterminate size (e.g., companies created during the year, etc.), which may be reclassified in another category as and when available information on sales, workforce, balance sheet size or financial links is updated.
Total loans to all firms is measured on the basis of data from bank balance sheets, which provide "macro" information, i.e., exhaustive information (all companies based on loans to the first euro), with certain breakdowns according to the nature of the loan. At the same time, on a regulatory basis, credit institutions and investment firms must declare by borrower ("micro" information) to the Central Risk Service of the Banque de France (SCR) the loans granted when they exceed €25,000. This collection is gradually being abandoned in favor of the AnaCredit collection, except for small banks which will not be subject to this declaration, in order to respect the "proportionality" between the economic importance of the bank and the constraints of its declaration obligations. This "micro" collection, which is fairly broad but not exhaustive, offers the advantage of being able to adopt the concepts of enterprise and category of enterprise defined by decree no. 2008-1354 on the criteria for determining the category of enterprise for the purposes of statistical and economic analysis (decree implementing article 51 of the law on the modernization of the economy - LME). The residual difference between the total by firm size and the total firm is essentially explained by these differences in scope and by legal units that cannot be assigned to a size category according to the criteria of the LME ("SCI and miscellaneous").
Interest rates (all maturities combined) by firm size (in %)![]()
Outstanding amounts of loans to resident firms by size (in € Bn) ![]()
3 - Outstanding amounts by sector ** (stocks in € Bn, annual growth rate in %)![]()
- The growth of outstanding loans remained highly contrasted across economic sectors. It stayed positive for the advisory & business support activites (+10.0%), transportation and storage (+4.0%), real estate activities (+3.5%), agriculture, forestry, and fishing (+3.1%), and information and communication (+1.1%). On the contrary, outstanding loans continued to contract for the accommodation and food services sector (-3.1%), industry (-3.2%), and wholesale and retail trade (-3.5%).
- Compared to its level in January 2024, outstanding loans for construction contracted (-4.5%), but they grew for the real estate development sub-sector (+2.7%).
| Drawn credits | Drawn and undrawn credits | |||||||
| Outstanding amounts | Annual growth rate in % | Outstanding amounts | Annual growth rate in % | |||||
| Jan-2025 (p) | Jan- 2024 | Dec-2024 (r) | Jan-2025 (p) | Jan-2025 (p) | Jan- 2024 | Dec-2024 (r) | Jan-2025 (p) | |
| Agriculture, forestry and fishing (AZ) | 67.3 | 4.0 | 3.3 | 3.1 | 75.9 | 2.20 | 2.1 | 2.7 |
| Industry (BE) | 164.7 | -3.1 | -3.8 | -3.2 | 262.4 | -1.70 | -1.2 | -2.4 |
| - inc. Manufacturing (C) | 114.1 | -2.5 | -2.8 | -3.0 | 182.7 | -1.50 | -0.5 | -1.5 |
| Construction (FZ) | 68.8 | -2.3 | -2.7 | -4.5 | 104.9 | -5.00 | -1.5 | -2.2 |
| Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles (G) | 181.5 | -1.4 | -3.9 | -3.5 | 251.8 | -4.20 | -1.9 | -2.1 |
| Transportation and storage (H) | 65.8 | 2.2 | 2.8 | 4.0 | 83.2 | 2.20 | 4.1 | 4.2 |
| Accommodation and food service activities (I) | 52.1 | 0.8 | -2.4 | -3.1 | 57.6 | 0.70 | -3.1 | -3.4 |
| Information and communication (JZ) | 34.1 | 5.3 | 0.5 | 1.1 | 53.6 | 1.70 | -3.0 | -5.3 |
| Real estate activities (LZ) (*) | 553.1 | 4.0 | 3.9 | 3.5 | 607.3 | 3.60 | 3.8 | 3.2 |
| Advisory and Business support activities (MN) | 104.5 | 5.9 | 10.5 | 10.0 | 134.8 | 7.10 | 10.3 | 11.8 |
|
Education, human health and social work services, Arts, entertainment and recreation, Other service activities (PS) |
62.0 | 1.0 | -2.8 | -2.2 | 68.6 | 4.00 | -3.3 | -7.8 |
| Holdings | 19.4 | -2.2 | 21.1 | 19.7 | 23.8 | -0.90 | 24.9 | 23.9 |
(r): revised data ; (p): provisional data
(*) including non-trading real estate companies
(**)For the difference between total firms and total, see the method note
(*) including non-trading real estate companies
(**)For the difference between total firms and total, see the method note
4 - Quarterly additional information : financing of VSE (1)![]()
Loans to VSEs: breakdown by type of loans (1)![]()
| Outstanding amounts (Billions euros) | Annual growth rate in % | ||
| Q4 2024 | Q3 2024 | Q4 2024 | |
| Loans | 360.6 | 0.5 | 0.7 |
| Treasury | 24.0 | -21.0 | -21.6 |
| Equipment | 165.7 | 1.3 | 1.6 |
| Real-estate | 170.9 | 4.0 | 3.9 |
Change in outstanding loans to VSEs ![]()
(in EUR Bn)
Quarterly new loans to VSEs ![]()
(in EUR Bn)
Additional information
In this quarterly additional information, very small enterprises (VSEs) are characterized by the criteria of the 2008 LME Act - companies employing fewer than 20 people and with annual sales or balance sheet total not exceeding 10 million euros - or failing that, by sales not exceeding 10 million euros.
Very small businesses, which include microenterprises, form part of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
(1) Following a change in the editorial line of some Stat Info (see the press release available here https://www.banque-france.fr/communique-de-presse/la-banque-de-france-presente-la-refonte-de-ses-stat-info), the quarterly publication on business credit rates is now integrated quarterly into Stat Info Financing of firms.
Very small businesses, which include microenterprises, form part of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
(1) Following a change in the editorial line of some Stat Info (see the press release available here https://www.banque-france.fr/communique-de-presse/la-banque-de-france-presente-la-refonte-de-ses-stat-info), the quarterly publication on business credit rates is now integrated quarterly into Stat Info Financing of firms.
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EN_Stat_Info_financement_des_entreprises_202501.pdf
Updated on the 13th of March 2025