Eurozone firms' appetite for cash slows
Growth in eurozone banks' lending to businesses slowed in February, figures from the European Central Bank showed Monday.
Lending growth to the private sector -- businesses and households -- in the 19-nation single currency area eased to 2.0 percent in February, after holding steady at 2.2 percent in the previous two months.
Growth in lending to the private sector is a closely-watched indicator of the economic outlook.
Adjusting for some purely financial transactions, loan growth fell back to its December level of 2.3 percent, after a small boost in January.
The slowdown was driven by businesses even as consumers continued to borrow more.
Still in adjusted terms, growth in lending to households added 0.1 points in February to reach 2.3 percent, while growth in credit to businesses fell back, to 2.0 percent compared with January's 2.3.
The ECB uses the lending data as one yardstick for the effectiveness of its easy-money policies of low interest rates and mass bond-buying, designed to pump cash through the financial system and into the real economy.
February's data "may modestly stir caution within the ECB over reducing monetary policy stimulus," commented economist Howard Archer of IHS Markit.
Comments