Financing of entreprises - 2026-05
Published on 9th of July 2026
Cost of new financing for non-financial corporations fell in May
- In May 2026, year-on-year growth in financing for non-financial corporations (NFCs) stood at 4.3%, almost unchanged compared to the previous month (4.4% in April). The rise in bank loan growth (3.9%, up from 3.4% in April) offset the decline in growth for debt securities, which nonetheless remained high (5.1%, down from 6.4% in April). Within the loan category, year-on-year growth in the cash component returned to positive territory (0.5%, up from -2.3% in April) for the first time since May 2023, while the investment component remained significantly more dynamic (4.4%, down from 4.6% in April).
- The average interest rate on new financing fell to 3.56% in May (down from 3.64% in April), primarily due to a drop in the cost of debt securities issuance (3.61%, down from 3.76% in April), although bank lending rates also edged down (3.54%, down from 3.58% in April).
1 - Overview of NFCs : Outstanding amounts and flows in €Bn, annual growth rate and cost in %
(non-seasonally adjusted) ![]()
| May-26 (p) | Annual growth rate | Cost (annual Interest rate) | |||||||||
| Outstanding
amounts |
Transactions
(cumulative over 12 month) |
New business
(cumulative over 12 month) |
May-25 | Mar-26 | Apr-26 (r) | May-26 (p) | May-25 | Mar-26 | Apr-26 (r) | May-26 (p) | |
| NFC's global financing | 2,184.9 | 89.7 | 761.4 | 1.5 | 3.5 | 4.4 | 4.3 | 3.47 | 3.68 | 3.64 | 3.56 |
| Loans | 1,429.6 | 53.1 | 366.8 | 2.1 | 2.8 | 3.4 | 3.9 | 3.56 | 3.56 | 3.58 | 3.54 |
| Investment | 1,047.0 | 3.8 | 4.7 | 4.6 | 4.4 | ||||||
| equipment | 651.8 | 3.9 | 4.1 | 4.2 | 4.1 | ||||||
| real-estate | 395.1 | 3.6 | 5.6 | 5.2 | 5.0 | ||||||
| Cash | 301.0 | -4.0 | -5.0 | -2.3 | 0.5 | ||||||
| Other lending | 81.6 | 5.8 | 10.0 | 9.9 | 9.8 | ||||||
| Loans up to €1 million | 126.2 | 3.79 | 3.73 | 3.76 | 3.78 | ||||||
| Loans over €1 million | 240.6 | 3.42 | 3.48 | 3.48 | 3.40 | ||||||
| Securities other than shares | 755.4 | 36.7 | 394.7 | 0.4 | 5.0 | 6.4 | 5.1 | 3.30 | 3.91 | 3.76 | 3.61 |
(r): revised data ; (p): provisional data
Monthly changes in outstanding loans by purpose (seasonally adjusted data in €bn) and outstanding annual growth rate (in %)![]()
Cost (all maturities combined) by financing sources (in %) ![]()
2- Bank loans by size of NFC ![]()
- At the end of May 2026, 12-month growth in outstanding loans increased across all business sizes. It stood at 2.5% for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and businesses of unspecified size, 0.7% for intermediate-sized enterprises (ISEs), and 7.4% for large enterprises (LEs).
- The cost of new bank financing fell very slightly for SMEs and businesses of unspecified size (3.53%, down from 3.55% in April) and for ISEs (3.74%, down from 3.75% in April), and more markedly for LEs (3.23%, down from 3.34% in April).
| Outstanding amounts (in €Bn) |
Outstanding year-on-year growth in % | Cost in % (annual interest rate) |
|||||||
| May-26 (p) | May-25 (r) | Mar-26 (r) | Apr-26 (r) | May-26 (p) | May-25 | Mar-26 | Apr-26 (r) | May-26 (p) | |
| - SME and unspecified size | 551.8 | 1.5 | 2.0 | 2.1 | 2.5 | 3.55 | 3.52 | 3.55 | 3.53 |
| - ISE | 386.5 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.4 | 0.7 | 3.76 | 3.74 | 3.75 | 3.74 |
| - Large firms | 236.5 | 4.2 | 4.2 | 3.6 | 7.4 | 3.24 | 3.36 | 3.34 | 3.23 |
(r): revised data ; (p): provisional data
On the difference between total NFCs and by company size, see method note
Interest rates (all maturities combined) by enterprise size (in %) ![]()
Outstanding amounts of loans to resident enterprises by size (in €Bn) ![]()
3 - Bank loans by sector (outstanding amounts in €bn, outstanding year-on-year growth in %)
- Growth in outstanding credit varied across business sectors. It remained positive for advisory & business consulting support activities (+8.8%), information and communication (+5.7%), real estate activities (+5.1%), transportation and storage (+3.4%), agriculture, forestry and fishing (+2.6%), and construction (+1.6%). It remained negative for accommodation and food services (-0.8%), wholesale and retail trade (-0.6%), industry (-0.5%, including -4.8% in manufacturing), and education, human health, social work services and services to households (-0.1%).
Outstanding amounts by sector (€bn)
May 2026
May 2026
Drawn credits year-on-year growth (in %)
Drawn and undrawn credits year-on-year growth (in %)
(r): revised data ; (p): provisional data
(*) including non-trading real estate companies
For the difference between total firms and total, see methodology note.
(*) including non-trading real estate companies
For the difference between total firms and total, see methodology note.
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EN_Stat_Info_financing_of_firms_202605.pdf
Updated on the 8th of July 2026