Financing of entreprises - 2026-09
Published on 12th of November 2026
Increase in the cost of new financing in September, particularly for market-based financing
- In September 2026, the year-on-year growth of financing granted to non-financial corporations (NFCs) slowed slightly, reaching 3.9% (down from 4.2% in August). This decline affected both debt securities (4.4% year-on-year, compared to 4.7% in August) and bank loans (3.6%, down from 3.8% in August). However, the investment component remained robust (+4.4%). The contraction in working capital (short-term) credit was more pronounced than in the previous month (-1.0%, compared to 0.2% in August).
- The average interest rate on new financing for NFCs rose in September (to 4.00%, from 3.74% in August). This increase was primarily driven by a rise in the cost of debt securities (to 4.40% from 3.87%) and, to a lesser extent, by an increase in the cost of bank loans (to 3.78% from 3.66% in August).
1 - Overview of NFCs : Outstanding amounts and flows in €bn, annual growth rate and cost in %
(non-seasonally adjusted) ![]()
| Sep-2026(p) | Annnual growth rate | Cost (annual Interest rate) | |||||||||
| Outstanding
amounts |
Transactions
(cumulative over 12 month) |
New business
(cumulative over 12 month) |
Sep-2025 | Jul- 2026 | Aug-2026(r) | Sep-2026(p) | Sep-2025 | Jul- 2026 | Aug-2026(r) | Sep-2026(p) | |
| NFC's global financing | 2,216.8 | 83.0 | 784.6 | 2.9 | 4.0 | 4.2 | 3.9 | 3.43 | 3.75 | 3.74 | 4.00 |
| Loans | 1,436.0 | 50.0 | 370.4 | 2.7 | 3.5 | 3.8 | 3.6 | 3.46 | 3.75 | 3.66 | 3.78 |
| Investment | 1,062.9 | 4.1 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.4 | ||||||
| equipment | 660.9 | 4.1 | 3.9 | 3.9 | 4.0 | ||||||
| real-estate | 402.0 | 4.1 | 5.5 | 5.5 | 5.1 | ||||||
| Treasury | 289.7 | -2.7 | -1.2 | -0.2 | -1.0 | ||||||
| Other lending | 83.5 | 6.1 | 9.9 | 10.6 | 10.2 | ||||||
| Loans up to €1 million | 128.9 | 3.67 | 3.87 | 3.84 | 3.92 | ||||||
| Loans over €1 million | 241.5 | 3.36 | 3.70 | 3.55 | 3.69 | ||||||
| Securities other than shares | 780.8 | 33.0 | 414.2 | 3.4 | 4.8 | 4.7 | 4.4 | 3.33 | 3.76 | 3.87 | 4.40 |
(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 September 2026, 12-month growth in outstanding credit slowed across all business size categories. It stood at 1.7% for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and businesses of unspecified-size, and at 4.6% for large enterprises (LEs). For intermediate-sized enterprises (ISEs), the growth rate turned negative, at -0.5%.
- The cost of new financing rose for all business size categories. It increased from 3.41% in August to 3.57% in September for large enterprises, from 3.74% to 3.82% for intermediate-sized enterprises, and from 3.72% to 3.84% for small and medium-sized enterprises and businesses of unspecified-size.
| Outstanding
amounts (in Bn €) |
Outstanding year-on-year growth in % | Cost in %
(annual interest rate) |
|||||||
| Sep-2026(p) | Sep-2025 | Jul-2026 | Aug-2026(r) | Sep-2026(p) | Sep-2025 | Jul-2026 | Aug-2026(r) | Sep-2026(p) | |
| - SME and unspecified size | 548.7 | 2.0 | 2.4 | 2.2 | 1.7 | 3.43 | 3.75 | 3.72 | 3.84 |
| - ISE | 392.4 | 1.7 | 0.9 | 0.7 | -0.5 | 3.65 | 3.86 | 3.74 | 3.82 |
| - Large firms | 235.3 | 3.8 | 6.4 | 5.8 | 4.6 | 3.21 | 3.58 | 3.41 | 3.57 |
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, annual growth rate in %) ![]()
- The growth of outstanding credit varied across business sectors. It was positive for advisory and business support activities (+6.8%), information and communication (+5.1%), transportation and storage (+5.0%), real estate activities (+4.3%), and agriculture, forestry and fishing (+2.2%). It was negative for construction (-0.5%), accommodation and food services activities (-0.5%), wholesale and retail trade (-1.9%), education, human health, social work services and services to households (-2.4%), and industry (-3.8%, including -6.1% manufacturing).
Outstanding amounts by sector (€bn)
September 2026
September 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
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 about loans to NFCs rates
Cost of new loans by purpose ![]()
(en %)
Breakdown on new loans by purpose ![]()
(in % of new business credits excluding overdrafts)
Characteristics of new loans to NFC![]()
| Average Effective Rate in the Narrow Sense (in %) | Average maturity
(in month) |
Share of loans
fixed rate (in %) |
||
| Apr-2026 | Jul-2026 | Jul-2026 | Jul-2026 | |
| Overdrats | 4.64 | 5.07 | ||
| Treasury excluding overdrafts | 3.68 | 3.90 | 35 | 17 |
| Equipment | 3.57 | 3.79 | 113 | 71 |
| Real-estate | 3.52 | 3.60 | 183 | 80 |
| Other investment loans | 4.42 | 4.76 | 61 | 97 |
AT Internet - liste domaines
Banque de France
Download the PDF version of the document
EN_Stat_Info_financing_of_nonfinancial_corporations_202609.pdf
Updated on the 12th of November 2026