PRACTICE NOTES
Loan market and developments
The following overview does not reflect any outcomes or shifts arising from a potential Brexit. A decade on from the crisis, Belgium’s financial industry has been reshaped. The banking sector has shrunk, largely due to restructuring among institutions that benefited from state aid. Lenders have reverted to more traditional models, prioritising domestic credit provision and deposit-based funding. The credit cycle is gaining momentum, supported by the economic upturn and exceptionally favourable financing conditions. Overall, corporate lending has continued to expand, whereas growth in household borrowing has levelled off. As reported in the National Bank of Belgium’s Financial Stability Report 2018, annual corporate loan growth reached 5.8% in February 2018, versus 4.9% for households. With better macroeconomic conditions and low interest rates stimulating private-sector demand for debt, loans to non-financial companies and to households represented the majority of the €24bn
Banking & Finance