The Bank of Spain has published the Spanish results of the Bank Lending Survey for the first quarter of 2026, showing that banks tightened lending standards for corporate loans, mortgages and consumer credit, with the strongest tightening in lending to non-financial corporations. General terms on new lending were broadly stable, except for a slight tightening in mortgages, while loan demand fell in all segments. Banks expect both tighter credit supply and weaker demand to intensify in the second quarter amid high uncertainty. Rejection rates rose slightly for lending to companies and for house purchase loans, while remaining stable for consumer credit. Mortgage terms tightened through higher interest rates and wider margins, whereas corporate lending and consumer lending terms saw no significant change apart from slightly shorter maturities for consumer and other household loans. The drop in corporate loan demand was concentrated in small and medium-sized enterprises and in longer-term borrowing, while demand from large companies was stable. Banks linked lower demand from firms to weaker fixed investment and fewer merger and restructuring transactions, and lower household demand to higher interest rates and, for consumer lending, weaker consumer confidence. Access to retail funding remained stable, but wholesale funding conditions worsened, especially in long-term debt securities markets. In an open question, most banks said recent geopolitical and energy-related developments had not yet changed their lending standards, although some reported an effect in corporate lending and all said they were monitoring more exposed sectors more closely. Nearly all banks expected a stronger and more widespread impact in the next quarter, potentially leading to tighter standards and conditions and lower demand depending on the duration and intensity of the conflict. The next survey results, covering the second quarter of 2026, are scheduled for 21 July.

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