The Bank of Italy has published updated Banks and Money national data for March 2026, showing faster annual growth in credit to the private sector and weaker growth in deposits. Lending to the private sector, adjusted under the European System of Central Banks harmonised methodology, rose 2.8 per cent year on year, up from 2.2 per cent in February. Lending to households increased by 2.7 per cent, up from 2.6 per cent, while lending to non-financial corporations increased by 2.8 per cent, up from 1.8 per cent. Private sector deposits increased by 2.5 per cent year on year, down from 4.3 per cent in February, while bond funding increased by 3.9 per cent, up from 1.6 per cent. The annual percentage rate of charge on new loans to households for house purchase fell to 3.81 per cent from 3.87 per cent, and the share of these loans with an initial interest rate fixation period of up to one year edged down to 17.3 per cent from 17.6 per cent. The annual percentage rate of charge on new consumer loans rose to 10.34 per cent from 10.25 per cent. Rates on new lending to non-financial corporations increased to 3.38 per cent from 3.33 per cent, with loans up to EUR 1 million priced at 4.18 per cent and larger loans at 2.99 per cent. Rates on outstanding deposits were 0.65 per cent, compared with 0.64 per cent in February. The release notes that Bulgaria joined the Economic and Monetary Union in January 2026, which affected the publication’s time series. From the same date, the table on loans to Italian residents by branch of economic activity is compiled using the Ateco 2025 classification, and estimates for January 2022 to December 2025 in that table were revised in the February 2026 release following methodological improvements.
Bank of Italy 2026-05-12
Bank of Italy updates March 2026 banking and money statistics with private sector lending growth at 2.8 per cent and deposit growth at 2.5 per cent
The Bank of Italy’s updated March 2026 Banks and Money data show faster annual growth in credit to the private sector and weaker deposit growth. Private sector lending rose 2.8 per cent year on year, with lending to households up 2.7 per cent and to non-financial corporations up 2.8 per cent, while private sector deposits grew 2.5 per cent and bond funding 3.9 per cent. Bulgaria’s entry into Economic and Monetary Union in January 2026 and adoption of the Ateco 2025 classification affected certain time series and led to revisions for January 2022 to December 2025.