35
Requests for loans
In the last few months, the market has sta-
bilised, especially in respect of requests for
loans. This has taken place both in lending
to private persons and lending to companies
and can be ascribed partially to the current
economic situation. Moreover, on the mort-
gage market, the abolishment of the govern-
mental measures in respect of green loans,
the announced discontinuation of the tax de-
ductibility of energy saving measures and the
implementation of VAT on notary fees have
acted as a brake on applications.
Stricter requirements
A study of Eurostat of October 2011 shows
that only 5.7% of the loan requests that SMEs
submit are rejected compared to, for example,
26.6%
of the requests in Ireland, or 22.5%
in the Netherlands, our northerly neighbour.
In other words, Belgium comes fourth among
the best of all countries in Europe.
The Bank Lending Survey, a survey of finan-
cial institutions about their conditions for ac-
ceding to requests for loans shows that their
granting conditions did not become stricter
between 2009 and the beginning of this year.
At present, however, a change is noticeable.
In the third quarter of 2012, the requirements
became stricter for the second time in a row
(
Bank Lending Survey of October 2012).
We expect that these stricter conditions will
also continue in the near future.
That would be the result of, amongst other
things, an increase in their funding costs, the
general economic reality, the prospects for
some branches of industry or companies, the
prospects for the housing market, the more
unfavourable sureties and the pressure on the
margins.
Debt burden
Not only do the financial institutions grant
sufficient loans, they also make sure that they
maintain a proper balance between lending
and the prevention of an excessive debt bur-
den. Due to this policy, our country is one of
the European countries where the debt bur-
den is relatively low. In Belgium, family debt
represented 55.3% of the gross domestic prod-
uct (GDP) in 2011. The European average was
87.1%.
That the Belgian consumer does not take
out loans without thinking twice is also clear
from the loan percentage. According to the
>
Lending
55,3
57,3
59,2
62,0
64,9
66,5
67,8
86,3
86,9
87,1
101,7
102,4
124,5
134,6
149,3
0
40
80
120
160
Belgium
Austria
2
Italy
2
Germany
2
France
2
Greece
Finland
2
Sweden
EU-14
1
Spain
UnitedKingdom
Portugal
Ireland
2
Netherlands
Denmark
Source: Febel n presentation and calculations on Eurostat data.
1.
EU-14: unweighted arithmetical mean of the 14 EU Member States
included into the European comparision.
2.
Data 2010.
EUROPEAN COMPARISON OF HOUSEHOLD’S
DEBT RATIO (HOUSEHOLD’S FINANCIAL DEBT
AS A % OF THE GDP, 2011)