摘要：This report presents the results of the euro area bank lending survey conducted from mid-December until
7 January 2009.
The results of the January 2009 bank lending survey indicate that in the fourth quarter of 2008 the net
tightening of credit standards for loans to enterprises remained broadly at the high level of the previous
quarter. The most important driving forces behind the net tightening continued to be expectations about
future economic activity and the industry or firm-specific outlook. At the same time, the overall impact of
banks¡¯ cost of funds and balance sheet constraints increased slightly at comparatively elevated levels.
For the fourth quarter of 2008, banks also reported a further tightening, in net terms, of their credit
standards for loans to households, with the net tightening for consumer credit and other lending reaching
a level similar to that of lending for house purchase. Expectations regarding general economic activity
continued to be an important factor contributing to the net tightening of the credit standards applied to
these two types of household loans. They were accompanied, in the case of housing loans, by a worsening
of housing market prospects and, in that of consumer credit and other lending, by a decline in consumers¡¯
creditworthiness. For the first quarter of 2009, banks expected a considerable decline in net tightening
for all three categories in comparison with the actual net tightening in the fourth quarter of 2008.
