Eurozone: Economic sentiment weakens in April, lending growth slowed in March - ING

Bert Colijn, senior economist at ING, notes that the Eurozone’s lending growth in March once again disappointed as loan growth to households decreased slightly from 3.3% to 3.2% YoY and seems to have plateaued.

Key Quotes

“Loan growth to non-financial businesses declined to 3.5% and even though February data was strong, the peak in loan growth of 4.3% in September 2018 is well behind us. Uncertainty and lack of confidence in the business world seem to have a material impact as financial conditions remain very favourable for the moment.”

“Indeed, economic sentiment declined again in April as the Economic Sentiment Indicator dropped from 105.4 to 104. This rounds out a poor start of the surveys to Q2 as the PMI, Ifo and consumer confidence also fell this month.”

“So although incoming data hasn't exactly turned a corner yet, hope for a growth pickup in the coming months remains alive.”