FRANKFURT (Reuters) -Growth in bank lending across the euro zone continued to accelerate in August, hitting multi-year highs as lower interest rates helped the flow of credit, European Central Bank data showed on Thursday.
Credit growth to businesses picked up to 3.0% in August from 2.8% a month earlier to reach its highest level since mid-2023, while loan growth the households rose to 2.5% from 2.4%, its best rate since April 2023.
Having cut interest rates by 200 basis points in the year to June, the ECB is banking on cheaper credit boosting investment and spending across a bloc that has struggled with lacklustre economic growth for years.
The M3 measure of money circulating in the euro zone, often an indicator of future activity, meanwhile expanded by 2.9%, below expectations for 3.3%, partly reflecting steady reduction in the ECB’s balance sheet.
(Reporting by Balazs KoranyiEditing by Francesco Canepa)
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