Financing of entreprises - 2026-07
Published on 9th of September 2026
Lending to non-financial corporations is slowing slightly but remains robust
- In July 2026, financing to non-financial corporations (NFCs) rose 3.8% year-over-year, a slight decline from the previous month (4.2% in June) due to slower growth in debt securities (4.4% in July after 4.8% in June) and bank loans (3.5% after 3.9%). Within the latter category, the investment component remained robust (outstanding balances up 4.6% after a 4.5% increase in June), while outstanding working capital loans declined by 1.4% (after a 0.2% increase in June).
- The average cost of new financing for non-financial corporations continued to rise in July to 3.76% (up from 3.64% in June and 3.56% in May) due to both the increase in the interest rate on debt securities issuance (3.78%, up from 3.54% in June) and the rise in bank loan rates (3.75%, up from 3.69% in June).
1 - Overview of NFCs : Outstanding amounts and flows in €Bn, annual growth rate and cost in %
(non-seasonally adjusted) ![]()
| Jul-26 (p) | Annual growth rate | Cost (annual Interest rate) | |||||||||
| Outstanding
amounts |
Transactions
(cumulative over 12 month) |
New business
(cumulative over 12 month) |
Jul-25 | May-26 | Jun-26 (r) | Jul-26 (p) | Jul-25 | May-26 | Jun-26 (r) | Jul-26 (p) | |
| NFC's global financing | 2,203.4 | 81.1 | 770.7 | 2.3 | 4.3 | 4.2 | 3.8 | 3.47 | 3.56 | 3.64 | 3.76 |
| Loans | 1,443.6 | 49.4 | 368.8 | 2.6 | 3.9 | 3.9 | 3.5 | 3.57 | 3.54 | 3.69 | 3.75 |
| Investment | 1,058.6 | 3.9 | 4.4 | 4.5 | 4.6 | ||||||
| equipment | 657.0 | 4.0 | 4.1 | 4.1 | 3.9 | ||||||
| real-estate | 401.7 | 3.8 | 5.0 | 5.2 | 5.6 | ||||||
| Working capital | 302.5 | -2.2 | 0.5 | 0.2 | -1.4 | ||||||
| Other lending | 82.4 | 4.8 | 9.8 | 10.7 | 9.9 | ||||||
| Loans up to €1 million | 127.9 | 3.73 | 3.78 | 3.84 | 3.86 | ||||||
| Loans over €1 million | 240.9 | 3.50 | 3.40 | 3.61 | 3.70 | ||||||
| Securities other than shares | 759.8 | 31.7 | 401.8 | 2.0 | 5.1 | 4.8 | 4.4 | 3.28 | 3.61 | 3.54 | 3.78 |
(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 ![]()
- As of the end of July 2026, the 12-month growth rate of outstanding loans declined across all company sizes. It stood at 2.2% for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and companies of undetermined size, at 0.8% for mid-sized companies (ISEs), and at 6.3% for large companies (large enterprises).
- The cost of new financing in July remained stable for mid-sized enterprises (3.87%) but rose for SMEs and enterprises of undetermined size (3.72%) and for large enterprises (3.62%).
| Outstanding amounts (in €Bn) |
Outstanding year-on-year growth in % | Cost in % (annual interest rate) |
|||||||
| Jul-26 (p) | Jul-25 | May-26 | Jun-26 (r) | Jul-26 (p) | Jul-25 | May-26 | Jun-26 (r) | Jul-26 (p) | |
| - SME and unspecified size | 551.2 | 1.6 | 2.7 | 2.5 | 2.2 | 3.52 | 3.53 | 3.64 | 3.72 |
| - ISE | 400.1 | 2.3 | 1.8 | 0.9 | 0.8 | 3.75 | 3.74 | 3.87 | 3.87 |
| - Large firms | 241.0 | 4.4 | 7.1 | 6.9 | 6.3 | 3.37 | 3.22 | 3.50 | 3.62 |
(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 loans varies across different business sectors. It was positive for information and communication (+6.7%), business consulting and services (+5.6%), real estate (+4.7%), transportation and warehousing (+4.5%), agriculture (+3.0%), construction (+0.5%), and trade (+0.5%). It remains negative in education and social services (-2.6%), industry (-0.9%, including -3.7% in manufacturing), and accommodation and food services (-0.6%).
Outstanding amounts by sector (€bn)
July 2026 (p)
July 2026 (p)
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
On the difference in calculation method between year-on-year change and annual growth rate, see methodology note.
(*) including non-trading real estate companies
On the difference in calculation method between year-on-year change and annual growth rate, see methodology note.
4 - Quarterly additional information : financing of VSE
Loans to VSEs: breakdown by type of loans![]()
| Outstanding amounts (Billions euros) | Annual growth rate in % | ||
| Q2 2026 | Q1 2026 | Q2 2026 | |
| Loans | 438.1 | 2.5 | 3.4 |
| Working capital | 18.2 | -16.6 | -17.3 |
| Equipment | 182.8 | 3.1 | 4.7 |
| Real-estate | 237.1 | 3.9 | 4.4 |
Change in outstanding loans to VSEs ![]()
(in €bn)
Quarterly new loans to VSEs ![]()
(in €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 a turnover not exceeding 10 million euros.
Very small businesses, which include microenterprises, form part of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
Very small businesses, which include microenterprises, form part of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
Download the PDF version of the document
EN_Stat_Info_financing_of_nonfinancial_corporations_202607.pdf
Updated on the 8th of September 2026