Financing of entreprises - 2026-08
Published on 8th of October 2026
The cost of new financing remained broadly stable in August
- In August 2026, the year-on-year growth of financing granted to nonfinancial corporations (NFCs) stood at 4.0%, remaining stable compared to the previous month (3.9% in July). This growth was driven by both bank loans, that rose by 3.8% year-on-year (up from 3.5% in July), and debt securities issuance, which increased by 4.4% (down from 4.5% in July).
- Interest rates on new financing for NFCs remained broadly stable in August at 3.73% (compared to 3.75% in July), as the decline in the average cost of new bank loans (3.66%, down from 3.75% in July) offset the rise in interest rates on new debt securities issues (3.87%, up from 3.76% in July).
1 - Overview of NFCs : Outstanding amounts and flows in €Bn, annual growth rate and cost in %
(non-seasonally adjusted) ![]()
| Aug-26 (p) | Annual growth rate | Cost (annual Interest rate) | |||||||||
| Outstanding
amounts |
Transactions
(cumulative over 12 month) |
New business
(cumulative over 12 month) |
Aug-25 | June-26 | Jul-26 (r) | Aug-26 (p) | Aug-25 | June-26 | Jul-26 (r) | Aug-26 (p) | |
| NFC's global financing | 2,196.2 | 85.3 | 775.0 | 2.2 | 4.2 | 3.9 | 4.0 | 3.35 | 3.64 | 3.75 | 3.73 |
| Loans | 1,437.1 | 53.3 | 371.6 | 2.4 | 3.9 | 3.5 | 3.8 | 3.39 | 3.69 | 3.75 | 3.66 |
| Investment | 1,061.5 | 3.9 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.5 | ||||||
| equipment | 659.4 | 4.0 | 4.1 | 3.9 | 3.9 | ||||||
| real-estate | 402.2 | 3.7 | 5.2 | 5.5 | 5.5 | ||||||
| Cash | 292.4 | -3.2 | 0.2 | -1.2 | -0.2 | ||||||
| Other lending | 83.2 | 5.1 | 10.7 | 9.9 | 10.6 | ||||||
| Loans up to €1 million | 128.3 | 3.65 | 3.84 | 3.87 | 3.84 | ||||||
| Loans over €1 million | 243.3 | 3.21 | 3.61 | 3.70 | 3.54 | ||||||
| Securities other than shares | 759.1 | 32.0 | 403.4 | 2.0 | 4.8 | 4.5 | 4.4 | 3.26 | 3.53 | 3.76 | 3.87 |
(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 August 2026, 12-month growth in outstanding loans remained robust at 6.1% for large firms. It stood at 0.8% for mid-sized companies (ISEs) and 2.2% for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and enterprises of unspecified size.
- The cost of new financing declined across all business sizes, falling from 3.58% in July to 3.40% in August for large firms, from 3.86% to 3.74% for ISEs, and from 3.75% to 3.71% for SMEs and enterprises of unspecified size.
| Outstanding amounts (in €Bn) |
Outstanding year-on-year growth in % | Cost in % (annual interest rate) |
|||||||
| Aug-26 (p) | Aug-25 (r) | June-26 (r) | Jul-26 (r) | Aug-26 (p) | Aug-25 | June-26 | Jul-26 (r) | Aug-26 (p) | |
| - SME and unspecified size | 550.3 | 1.9 | 2.6 | 2.4 | 2.2 | 3.39 | 3.65 | 3.75 | 3.71 |
| - ISE | 398.8 | 2.3 | 0.9 | 0.9 | 0.8 | 3.59 | 3.87 | 3.86 | 3.74 |
| - Large firms | 238.8 | 3.3 | 6.8 | 6.6 | 6.1 | 3.02 | 3.48 | 3.58 | 3.40 |
(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 %)
- Year-on-year growth in outstanding credit varied by business sector. It was positive for information and communication (+7.7%), transportation and storage (+5.8%), advisory and business support activities (+5.3%), real estate activities (+4.7%), agriculture, forestry and fishing (+2.9%), construction (+0.6%), and wholesale and retail trade (+0.1%). It remained negative in industry (-1.9%, including -3.8% in manufacturing), education, human health and social services to households (-1.2%), and accommodation and food services (-0.4%).
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.
AT Internet - liste domaines
Banque de France
Download the PDF version of the document
EN_Stat_info_Financing_of_Firms_202608.pdf
Updated on the 8th of October 2026