Italian banks report moderate lending and deposit growth in December

In December 2025, bank loans to Italian residents, adjusted according to the European System of Central Banks' harmonized methodology, showed a 2.1 percent annual increase, consistent with the previous month.

Lending to households grew by 2.5 percent year-on-year, up from 2.3 percent in November.

Loans to non-financial corporations expanded by 2.0 percent, a slight acceleration from 1.8 percent in the preceding month.

Concurrently, private sector deposits saw an annual increase of 2.3 percent, a modest deceleration from 2.6 percent in November.

Bond funding also contributed to financing, rising by 2.1 percent over the corresponding period, compared to 2.8 percent in November.

The Annual Percentage Rate of Charge (APRC) on new loans to households for house purchase reached 3.81 percent in December, an increase from 3.72 percent in November.

The share of these loans with an initial interest rate fixation period of up to one year also rose to 18.5 percent, from 14.9 percent previously.

For new consumer loans, the APRC stood at 9.97 percent, a slight decrease from 10.08 percent in November.

Interest rates on new lending to non-financial corporations amounted to 3.58 percent, up from 3.52 percent.

Specifically, new loans up to €1 million were priced at 4.16 percent, while those above that threshold were at 3.29 percent.

Rates on the outstanding amount of deposits were 0.62 percent, a marginal dip from 0.63 percent.