Enterprises in search of liquidity Credit disbursed up 8.6%

The gradual easing of monetary tightening by the ECB led to an increase in the amount of credit disbursed to businesses by banks in the first quarter of the year (+8.6% compared to Q1 2024), although the number of loans remained stable (+0.02%) .

This was noted by Crif's periodic Observatory on Enterprises, explaining that a more favourable rate condition, after eight consecutive cuts, has restored dynamism to loan applications, in fact 'unblocking' companies that were at the window, but at the same time incentivising those who do not immediately need credit, but consider it useful to increase liquidity in order to have tools with which to face a still uncertain market context.

Nor should last week's decision by the European Central Bank to leave rates on deposits (2%), main refinancing operations (2.15%) and marginal lending (2.4%) unchanged change this trend, according to Luca D'Amico, CEO of Crif Ratings. This is partly because it is an expected decision, and partly because, if anything, other factors, more generally linked to the general market context, could impact the trend of credit to businesses in the coming months. A context of 'extreme caution', specifies D'Amico: it is true that inflation is under control, but the markets are extremely turbulent and this explains both the progressive increase in default rates, and the data on bankruptcies released last Tuesday by Cribis (a Crif company), which showed an increase of 18% in the second quarter compared to the same period in 2024.

"In particular, the trade and geopolitical tensions that are characterising the international markets could lead to a slowdown in the expected growth," D'Amico observes. Moreover, the data on credit disbursed, which is fairly homogeneous among the various types of companies (corporations, companies and partnerships), conceals even significant differences between sectors, some of which are particularly exposed to the uncertainties of the global economic context.

These include the textile and clothing industry, which recorded a 15% drop in disbursed amounts in the first quarter of the year, in sharp contrast to the general average for the sectors. Not only that: default rates for this sector are on the rise and, at the end of 2024, stood at around 3.9% against a national average of 2.7-2.8%. It should also be noted that while the textile sector has always had above-average risk rates, the differential with other sectors has widened and this has certainly made credit institutions more cautious in granting loans.