The European Central Bank has published a working paper finding that Austria’s 2020 corporate loan moratoria increased investment and profitability among eligible microenterprises without raising defaults after repayments resumed. Firms invested an estimated EUR 0.47 for each euro of postponed payments and reduced shareholder payouts during the moratorium, suggesting that the temporary liquidity relief supported productive investment rather than distributions to owners. The study uses an eligibility cutoff of EUR 2 million in pre-policy assets to assess the moratoria, which deferred principal and interest while preserving repayment obligations and allowing interest to accrue. Take-up was 44%, partly reflecting the financial cost and firms’ fear that participation would signal distress. Banks temporarily classified eligible firms as more likely to be unable to pay, but the study found no persistent deterioration in access to financing. The authors identify continued monitoring by relationship lenders, which retained the credit risk because there were no government guarantees, as a key distinction from grant programs.
2026-09-16European Central Bank
European Central Bank working paper finds Austrian loan moratoria increased investment without raising defaults
A European Central Bank working paper finds that Austria’s corporate loan moratoria increased investment and profitability without raising defaults after repayments resumed. Take-up was 44%, and firms invested EUR 0.47 per euro of postponed payments while reducing shareholder payouts. The study links these outcomes to monitoring by relationship lenders that continued to bear the credit risk.