Outstanding volume of corporate loans exceeds cap of 200 billion euros
24 September 2025 - 4 min Reading time
As of the end of June 2025, the outstanding volume of business loans was 3.8% higher than a year earlier, surpassing the €200 billion mark for the first time.
In the second quarter of 2025, compared to the same quarter last year, both the amount of loan applications and the amount of loans granted increased. Loan applications rose by 1.7%, and the amount of newly granted loans increased by 14.7%.
However, this increase in value did not correspond to an increase in the number of applications and loans granted. In Q2 2025, there were 9.0% fewer business loan applications than in the same period of 2024, and the number of loans granted fell by 2.5%.
Although the rejection rate in Q2 2025 was slightly higher than in Q1 of 2023 and 2024, it remains relatively low.
Outstanding loan volume remains high
At the end of June 2025, the outstanding amount of drawn business loans, including commitment loans, stood at €200.5 billion—3.8% more than a year earlier. This marks the first time the outstanding loan volume has exceeded €200 billion.
These are, for example, guarantee credits or documentary credits.
Loan demand and production decline in number but rise in value
In Q2 2025, entrepreneurs submitted 9.0% fewer loan applications than in the same period last year, but for a higher total amount. The requested amount increased by 1.7%, marking the third consecutive quarter of declining application numbers.
The number of loans granted also fell by 2.5% compared to Q2 2024, but the total amount granted was 14.7% higher.
This divergence between the number and value of applications and loans may be due to differing trends between large and small businesses. Larger companies are actively investing in sustainability, while smaller firms remain more hesitant—especially evident in financing for electric vehicles.
Bank lending policies remain largely unchanged
On one hand, the rejection rate in Q2 2025 was slightly higher than in Q2 of 2023 and 2024, but still low overall.
On the other hand, the quarterly survey by the National Bank of Belgium (NBB) on perceived credit constraints shows that banks may have slightly eased their lending conditions. The share of businesses viewing credit conditions as unfavourable dropped to 11.4% in July 2025, down from 15.5% in May 2025.
Perceptions of credit constraints are closely linked to interest rates. Since late 2021, rates rose due to European Central Bank hikes. But as the ECB began lowering policy rates in late 2023, business loan rates have gradually declined—reflected in the NBB’s perception indicator.
Interest rates have continued to fall
The weighted average interest rate on new business loans peaked at 4.66% in November 2023. By July 2025, it had dropped by more than one percentage point to 3.49%. Business loan rates are following the ECB’s policy rate cuts and not the rise in long-term government bond yields.
