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The euro area bank lending survey (BLS) provides information on bank lending conditions in the euro area. It supplements existing statistics with information on the supply of and demand for loans to enterprises and households. The BLS provides input to the assessment of monetary and economic developments carried out by the ECB Governing Council in the process of making its monetary policy decisions.
Banks’ approval criteria for loans to firms and households tightened. This mainly reflected concerns about credit risk arising from the coronavirus crisis.
Firms’ loan demand declined further after a strong increase in the first half of 2020, while demand for housing loans continued to increaseCoronavirus-related government guarantees on loans to firms supported bank lending conditions in 2020.