Non-performing loans attributed to enterprises increased by over 7% between January 2023 and January 2024, from €17.3 billion to €18.5 billion. This indicates that customers are struggling to handle their financial debt when interest rates rise. This is one of many unfavorable consequences for the credit industry following a year of 4.5% increases in borrowing costs. Furthermore, throughout the time under consideration, bank loans to firms and households declined by €43 billion, or more than €3 billion per month, while credit institutions' net non-performing loans increased by more than 16%. Mortgages declined by almost 3 billion (-0.64%), as did personal loans, which fell by more than 14 billion (-10%), but consumer credit increased by nearly 5 billion (+4%). Companies are deeply dissatisfied with the European Central Bank's monetary policy.
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