Bank Lending Survey (BLS)

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The survey, started in January 2003, is conducted by the national central banks of the countries that have adopted the single currency, in collaboration with the European Central Bank, and is addressed to the senior loan officers responsible for credit policies of the main banks of the euro area (around 150). Thirteen credit groups are involved in Italy.

The survey makes it possible to highlight the factors influencing the supply of credit and the terms and conditions for clients on the one hand, and the evolution of credit demand with the relevant determinants on the other.

The survey is carried out using a questionnaire, periodically revised and updated (see the Methodological note for further details), with 22 multiple-choice questions and divided in two sections. The first section refers to loans granted to firms, the second to credit granted to households (for house purchase, consumer credit and other lending). The questionnaire also includes an "open" question, in which intermediaries may highlight cyclical aspects of the loans market that are not contemplated in the other questions. The senior loan officers are called upon to express their opinion on both developments in the last quarter and expectations for the next quarter. In the questionnaire ad hoc questions on specific topics of interest may be added occasionally.

An overview of the changes to the questionnaire is available in the file containing the results.

Results for Italy

This section provides quarterly time series, as of January 2003, of the diffusion index and the net percentage, based on the answers to single questions. As of April 2018 the time series, both current and those for previous surveys, are calculated using a methodology harmonized across the euro area (see Methodological note). Therefore the series published may differ slightly from those released previously, which are available for consultation in the Methodology and other material section.
Beginning in April 2014, a note that comments the main results is also included.

Comments to main results - Archive

Approfondimenti metodologici e altro materiale

Risultati per l'area dell'euro