Access to bank financing for companies - 2025-Q1
Published on the 5th of May 2025
More than 80% of companies report a stabilization or a decrease in the cost of credit.
- Requests for investment loans remained stable for Mid-Sized Companies (MSCs) and Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) compared to the previous quarter. They remain at a very low level regarding cash flow loans.
- Investment and cash flow loan obtention rates remains high, despite a slight decline compared to the previous quarter for investment loans to MSCs and SMEs and for cash flow loans to MSCs.
- The share of companies reporting an increase in the overall cost of credit continues to decline.
NB: bank credits alone are examined in this survey; some companies also have access to market financing options, which provides them with financing solutions not covered by this survey.
Data not seasonally adjusted, in %; excluding use of previously granted credit lines
Scope: companies with autonomy to decide on credit applications: SME = 10 - 249 employees; MSC = 250 - 4999 employees
Scope: companies with autonomy to decide on credit applications: SME = 10 - 249 employees; MSC = 250 - 4999 employees
New investment loans
- The share of companies requesting new investment loans (see Graph 1) stabilized at 19% in Q1 2025 for SMEs and at 26% for MSCs.
- Obtention rates for these loan applications remain very high for both SMEs and MSCs : 96% of SMEs and 94% of MSCs that applied for a loan obtained it in full or for more than 75% of the requested amount (see Graph 2).
New cash flow loans
- The share of companies requesting new cash flow loans (see Graph 3) slightly decreased, reaching a low level of 5% for both SMEs and MSCs.
- For this type of loans, obtention rates (in full or for more than 75% of the amount) are becoming similar between SMEs and MSCs. Over the past six months, MSCs saw their obtention rate fall from 96% to 90%, while the rate for SMEs rose from 83% to 85% (see Graph 4).
Complements
1 - Credit lines
For operating needs, SMEs and MSCs can apply (usually at the beginning of the year) for credit lines giving them drawing rights over the year.
- Requests have remained stable for several quarters across all company sizes, with one-third of SMEs and nearly half of MSCs having applied for a credit line over the past 12 months.
- These requests continue to be largely granted (in full or for more than 75% of the amount) in over 95% of cases for both SMEs and MSCs.
- 54% of SMEs used their credit lines this quarter, a decrease of one percentage point compared to the previous quarter. 58% of MSCs drew on their credit lines, down three points compared to Q4 2024.
2- Supply rate for new equipment loan
Among investment loans, equipment loans are intended to finance intangible or tangible assets, excluding real estate.
- Obtention rate for equipment loans remains high across all company sizes: 92% of SMEs and 94% of MSCs that applied for this type of loan obtained it (in full or for more than 75% of the amount).
3- Evolution of the cost of credit
- In Q1 2025, 84% of SMEs and 88% of MSCs reported that the overall cost of credit remained stable or decreased.
- Compared to the previous quarter, the share of companies reporting an increase in the overall cost of credit has declined again (by 4 percentage points for SMEs and 3 percentage points for MSCs, respectively).
- However, the share of companies reporting a decrease in the overall cost of credit compared to the previous quarter remained stable for MSCs at 37% and decreased by one point to reach 21% for SMEs. This is explained by a higher share of companies reporting stable credit costs compared to the previous quarter, with 63% (up four points) for SMEs and 51% (up three points) for MSCs.
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Updated on the 2nd of May 2025