Greece Credit Growth Slows to Lowest in Over 2 Years

The annual growth of total credit extended to the Greek economy slowed to 2.4% in September 2026, its weakest pace since January 2024, down from 3.5% in August. Despite this deceleration, net lending flows turned positive, reaching €744 million after a €250 million outflow in the previous month. Credit growth to the private sector eased to 6% from 7.3%, although monthly net flows improved markedly to €735 million from €489 million. Meanwhile, credit to the general government contracted at a faster annual pace of 3.6%, compared with 2.7% in August. However, monthly net flows turned marginally positive at €9 million, following a €250 million decline in the previous month.

The annual growth of total credit extended to the Greek economy stood at 3.5% in August 2026, unchanged from the previous month. Bank lending remained negative at €38 million, although this represented a partial recovery from last month’s sharply negative net flow of €3.89 billion. The improvement was driven by higher lending to the private sector, which rebounded to a net inflow of €478 million from a €2.52 billion net outflow in the previous month, although the pace of decline quickened to 2.4% from 2%. Meanwhile, credit to the general government partially recovered to a net outflow of €516 million from €1.37 billion in the previous month, while annual growth accelerated to 7.1% from 6.7%.

The annual growth of total credit extended to the Greek economy slowed to 3.4% in July 2026, down from 5.0% in June and marking its weakest pace since September 2024. Bank lending also recorded a significant monthly reversal, with the net flow of total credit turning negative at €3.96 billion, compared with a positive €3.50 billion a month earlier. Credit to the general government accounted for part of the decline, with a net outflow of €1.37 billion following a €213 million inflow in June. As a result, the annual growth rate of government credit fell to -2.0% from 0.4%. Lending to the private sector also lost momentum, with annual growth easing to 6.8% from 7.7%. The monthly flow of private-sector credit was negative by €2.59 billion, reversing a €3.29 billion increase in June.