Survey on the Access to Finance of Enterprises: lending conditions tightened

20 July 2026
- Firms reported further net tightening of bank loan interest rates and other loan conditions related to price and non-price factors.
- Firms signalled a small increase in financing needs, while availability of bank loans remained broadly unchanged, but with notable differences between SMEs and large firms.
- Firms expected lower increases in selling prices, non-labour input costs and wage expectations.
- Inflation expectations at the one, three and five-year horizons remained largely stable.
In the most recent round of the Survey on the Access to Finance of Enterprises (SAFE), covering the second quarter of 2026, euro area firms reported a strong net increase in interest rates on bank loans (net 42%, compared with 26% in the previous quarter). A similar increase was observed by both small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and large firms. At the same time, a net 31% of firms (down from 37% in the previous quarter) reported increases in other financing costs (i.e. charges, fees and commissions) and in collateral requirements (net 10%, down from 14% in the first quarter of 2026) (Chart 1).
In this survey round, firms reported a small increase in financing needs for bank loans (a net 2% of firms, up from 0% in the first quarter of 2026), accompanied by broadly unchanged availability (net -1%, compared with -3% in the first quarter of 2026). Both SMEs and large firms signalled slightly higher financing needs, although loan availability showed a diverging pattern, rising for large firms (net 4%) but declining for SMEs (net -4%). As a result, the bank loan financing gap – an index which captures the difference between the need for and the availability of bank loans – remained positive and was slightly higher at 3%, up from 2% in the previous quarter (Chart 2). Looking ahead, fewer firms than before expect the availability of external financing to deteriorate.
Firms continued to perceive the general economic outlook to be the main factor constraining the availability of external financing (net 29%, compared with 26% in the previous survey round) but indicated further improvements in banks’ willingness to lend (net 6%, up from 5%). In this survey round, a net 10% of firms indicated that they expected their firm-specific outlook to have a more negative impact, in terms of sales and profits, on the availability of external financing (up from 8% in the previous survey round).
On average, firms expected selling prices, non-labour input costs and wage expectations to rise more moderately over the next 12 months (Chart 3). Firms expected selling prices to increase by 3.2% (down from 3.5%), while non-labour input costs, including energy, were projected to rise by 5.2% (down from 5.8%). Wage expectations eased further and were expected to increase by 2.5%, down from 2.8% in the previous quarter (Chart 3).
In this survey round, firms’ inflation expectations remained broadly unchanged while the dispersion of expectations over the short term decreased. Median one-year-ahead and three-year ahead inflation expectations stood at 3.0% (unchanged), while median five-year-ahead inflation expectations increased slightly to 3.1% (from 3.0% in the previous quarter) (Chart 4). The risk assessment for firms’ five-year-ahead inflation outlook was broadly unrevised, with the share reporting upside risks prevailing at 65%.
The ongoing war in the Middle East has created significant challenges for euro area firms (Chart 5). In response to ad hoc questions, firms highlighted seeking alternative suppliers (36% for input/materials, 29% for energy) and investing in energy efficiency (31%) as key strategies for responding to geopolitical tensions. Additionally, 21% reported increasing inventories or building stockpiles, while 15% mentioned revising insurance or trade finance arrangements. By contrast, only 8% reported reducing or suspending activity in affected export markets. Overall, large firms are more likely to have adopted coping strategies, while SMEs are less likely to have implemented or planned such measures.
Another set of ad hoc questions focused on the type of financing firms plan to use for investments in artificial intelligence (AI) technologies over the next 12 months (Chart 6). Firms anticipate funding these investments primarily through the use of internal funds (72%), with external sources such as bank loans, grants or leasing each accounting for around 16%. Equity/venture capital (6%) and debt securities (1%) are likely to be the least used financing options.
The report published today presents the main results of the 39th round of the SAFE for the euro area. The survey was conducted between 21 May and 26 June 2026. In this survey round, firms were asked about economic and financing developments over the period between April and June 2026. Additionally, firms reported their expectations for euro area inflation, selling prices and other costs. The sample comprised 5,087 firms in the euro area, of which 4,679 (92%) had fewer than 250 employees.
For media queries, please contact: Benoit Deeg, tel.: +49 172 1683704.
Notes
- The report on this round of the SAFE , together with the questionnaire and methodological information, is available on the ECB’s website.
- Detailed data series for the individual euro area countries and aggregate euro area results are available on the ECB Data Portal.
Chart 2
Changes in euro area firms’ financing needs and the availability of bank loans
Chart 3
Expectations for selling prices, wages, input costs and employees one year ahead, by size class
Chart 4
Firms’ median expectations for euro area inflation by size class
Chart 5
Firms’ strategies in response to geopolitical tensions following the conflict in the Middle East, by size class
Chart 6
Types of financing sources for AI investment
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