German Firms Find Bank Credit Easier in Q3, but SME Demand Hits Low
Frankfurt – October 29, 2026 -- Nearly 36 percent of German mid-sized companies still rated bank behavior in credit negotiations as restrictive in the third quarter of 2026, almost five percentage points fewer than in the prior quarter, according to the KfW-ifo Credit Hurdle. Lending conditions are easing, but remain tighter than the average of recent years.
Large corporates see restrictive lending fall to 27 percent
Just over 27 percent of surveyed large companies reported restrictive lending behavior by their banks. That is almost six percentage points below the previous quarter. KfW compiles the indicator each quarter from ifo Institute business survey data, broken down by company size and economic sector.