Euro-area businesses reported higher borrowing costs and reduced access to bank loans in a survey released Monday, October 26, by the European Central Bank.
A net 46% of respondents reported increased bank-loan interest rates, compared with 42% in the preceding quarter. Net percentages measure the difference between businesses reporting increases and those reporting decreases; they are not the size of an interest-rate rise.
Loan availability fell more than financing needs.
The findings come from 12,822 enterprises surveyed between August 26 and October 2. Businesses with fewer than 250 employees represented 93% of the sample. About half answered questions covering July through September, while the remainder reported on April through September.
The ECB cautioned that first-time respondents made up most of this round’s sample, complicating comparisons of numerical expectations for prices and costs. Among businesses appearing in both rounds, median inflation expectations were broadly unchanged.
These are companies’ reported financing experiences and expectations, rather than a new interest-rate decision or a guarantee of future borrowing conditions.
Sources: European Central Bank — Survey on the Access to Finance of Enterprises, October 26, 2026: https://www.ecb.europa.eu/press/pr/date/2026/html/ecb.pr261026~bde7b6d11a.en.html Reuters — euro-area financing survey, October 26, 10:31 a.m. UTC: https://www.reuters.com/legal/transactional/euro-zone-firms-find-it-harder-get-credit-ecb-survey-shows-2026-10-26/