Banks granted around €30,206 million in credit and loans to Spanish families and companies last February, the lowest amount granted in a month since August 2021, which represents a year-on-year fall of 15.88% and breaks the upward trend it has been showing since the Covid pandemic. The fall coincides with the almost vertical rise in the Euribor and is explained in its entirety in mortgages, whose production has plummeted by 17.51%.
These are data from the Bank of Spain, whose statistics reveal that this evolution is causing the credit business to shrink. In mortgages, the outstanding portfolio managed by banks fell by 1.10% year-on-year, to €506,157 million, after more than half a year with debt repayments far higher in amount than the new money that comes into lending with new production.
In companies, the outstanding savings fell by 0.85% compared to February 2022 – it stands at €473,099 million – after linking two successive months of reduction. Banks, though, deny that credit to the economy is restricted and attribute the lower production to a demand weakened by the scenario of interest rate hikes.
