Bank of Italy updates April 2026 banks and money data with private sector lending up 2.8 per cent and deposits up 2.9 per cent

The Bank of Italy has published its updated Banks and Money national data for April 2026, showing a slight acceleration in credit and funding growth. Lending to the private sector, adjusted under the European System of Central Banks harmonised methodology, rose by 2.8 per cent year on year, up from 2.7 per cent in March. Household lending increased by 2.6 per cent, down from 2.7 per cent, while lending to non-financial corporations rose by 3.1 per cent from 2.8 per cent. Private sector deposits increased by 2.9 per cent, up from 2.5 per cent, and bond funding rose by 4.2 per cent from 3.9 per cent. Borrowing costs increased in April. The annual percentage rate of charge on new loans to households for house purchase rose to 3.91 per cent from 3.81 per cent, while the share of those loans with an initial rate fixation period of up to one year increased to 21.2 per cent from 17.3 per cent. The annual percentage rate of charge on new consumer loans rose to 10.41 per cent from 10.34 per cent. Rates on new lending to non-financial corporations increased to 3.56 per cent from 3.38 per cent, including 4.28 per cent for loans of up to EUR 1 million and 3.15 per cent for larger loans. Rates on the outstanding amount of deposits were unchanged at 0.65 per cent. The release also notes that Bulgaria's accession to the euro area in January 2026 affected the publication's time series, and that Table 1.9 now uses the Ateco 2025 classification with revised estimates for January 2022 to December 2025.