February marks negative net flow for bank lending

A decisive factor in the overall picture was financing to the general government, which recorded a sharply negative net flow of €2.95 billion, compared to an outflow of €315 million in the previous month. Meanwhile, the annual growth rate declined to -1.0% from 0.6% in January.

Recovery in Private Sector Financing

In contrast, the private sector displayed a positive trend, with net financing inflows of €1.264 billion, compared to an outflow of €2.17 billion in the previous month. However, the annual growth rate slowed slightly to 7.4% from 7.6%.

Specifically:

• Financing to businesses showed a strong recovery, with a positive net flow of €1.243 billion and an annual growth rate of 9.9%.
• Non-financial corporations recorded net inflows of €965 million, with a growth rate of 10.3%.
• Financing to insurance companies and other financial institutions increased, with a growth rate of 5.8%.
• In contrast, financing to self-employed professionals, farmers, and sole proprietorships remained negative (-€6 million), with an annual change of -1.8%.
• Households and non-profit institutions registered positive net inflows of €28 million, with an annual growth rate of 2.6%.

Smaller Deposit Outflows

On the deposits front, the total net flow was negative at €511 million, showing a marked improvement compared to outflows of €4.845 billion in January.

• General government deposits declined by €66 million.
• Private sector deposits fell by €445 million, reaching €207.52 billion, with the annual growth rate rising to 5.6%.

At a more detailed level:

• Corporate deposits decreased by €519 million, although the annual growth rate accelerated to 10.9%.
• Conversely, household deposits increased by €74 million, reaching €154.15 billion, with an annual growth rate of 3.9%.