Euro zone banks expect more demand for corporate and household loans during the third quarter as credit standards ease, the European Central Bank said in its quarterly survey of major banks in the euro area.
With the European Central Bank buying 2.5 trillion euros ($ 2.9 trillion) of public and private bonds over the past three years, it has pushed borrowing costs to record lows in hopes of stimulating borrowing and spending, all with the ultimate goal of boosting inflation.
Although the scheme worked more slowly than expected, lending to households and businesses was close to pre-crisis highs. So the bank agreed last month to reduce bond purchases, expressing satisfaction that inflation has finally returned to its target just below 2%.
