Banks ease credit terms

The ECB said eurozone banks have loosened credit standards for loans to consumers for the first time since the end of 2007, in a sign that the debt crisis may be abating.

A measure of consumer credit standards climbed to a net easing last quarter from a net tightening in the three months ended March, the ECB said in its quarterly Bank Lending Survey yesterday. Banks tightened credit standards less for home loans and at the same rate for firms as the previous quarter.

“The development of credit standards for both non-financial corporations and households in the second quarter of 2013 reflected somewhat reduced contributions not only from banks’ risk perceptions, but also from their cost of funds and balance sheet constraints,” the ECB said in the report.