The Austrian National Bank (OeNB) published Austria’s results from the euro area Bank Lending Survey for the third quarter of 2025, showing that banks saw higher corporate loan demand and expect a further increase in the fourth quarter of 2025, ending a near three-year downturn. Demand for housing loans from households also increased, extending the rebound that began in the first half of 2024. For corporate lending, the survey indicates that weakening investment financing needs no longer acted as a drag on demand in Q3 2025, while lower interest rates on corporate loans and more active small and medium-sized enterprise activity supported demand. Banks reported a slight easing in lending policy since mid-2025, including lower interest rates and margins, mainly attributed to stronger competition, but noted that overall credit supply conditions remained affected by perceived risks tied to the general economic situation and corporate creditworthiness. For housing lending, lower rates were identified as the main driver, against a backdrop of European Central Bank policy rate cuts from 4% to 2% between June 2024 and June 2025; the OeNB’s credit statistics show average new housing lending of EUR 1.4 billion per month from January to August 2025 (peaking at EUR 1.6 billion in April and July), up 44% versus the 2024 annual average, though still below the 2021 monthly average of EUR 2.1 billion. The OeNB noted that upcoming monetary statistics will show how far the rise in corporate loan demand translates into higher new lending, while surveyed banks expect housing loan demand to keep rising in Q4 2025 but at a slower pace. A detailed write-up is published in the OeNB Reports series, including a long-term comparison of rates and instalments for new housing loans.

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