Banks see no reason to tighten the criteria for granting credit to families in the second quarter, which is already underway, whether for the purchase of housing or for consumption, reveals the Survey of Banks on the Credit Market, released this Tuesday by the Bank of Portugal (BdP). In new loans to companies, the group of banks participating in the inquiryrelating to the national market, allows the adoption of slightly more restrictive criteria for small and medium-sized companies (SMEs) and long-term loans.
In the private segment, and despite the maintenance of concession criteria, such as spreads (banks’ commercial margin), contract deadlines or solvency assessment, banking institutions expect a decrease in demand for new loans, whether financing for housing acquisition or for consumption expenses.
Interestingly, the slowdown expected for the period between April and June comes after an increase in demand in the first quarter of the year in both segments.
And still regarding the first quarter, the banks participating in the survey reported that “the prospects for the housing market, including the expectation of price evolution“, contributed slightly to more restrictive criteria, although with no aggregate impact. And due to the slightly stricter criteria, and contrary to what happened in companies, the proportion of loan requests rejected from individuals registered “a slight increase”.
The growth in demand for credit between January and March is justified, in housing, by the “regulatory and fiscal regime of the housing market (which includes the public guarantee and exemptions from IMT and stamp duty), and, to a lesser extent, (by) the prospects of the housing market, including the expectation of price developments”. In consumption and other purposes, “consumer confidence and the financing of consumption expenses using loans secured by properties made a slight contribution to the increase in demand”.
In companies, access to new financing was slightly more difficult in the first quarter, although mitigated by greater competition between peers. “The perception of risks associated with the general economic situation and prospects and of specific companies or sectors of activity and risk tolerance contributed slightly to increasing the restrictiveness of the general terms and conditions applied to loans to companies”, states the conclusions of the survey. However, “competition from other banking institutions contributed slightly in the opposite direction”.
The greater restrictiveness in credit to companies, both SMEs and large companies, resulted in a “slight increase in the spread applied to higher risk loans”, and, in the SME segment, “there is also a slight increase in restrictiveness associated with the maturity of the loans”.
In the opposite direction, there was a “slight decrease in the interest rate and the spread applied to medium risk loans, as well as commissions and other charges not related to interest rates, both in SMEs and large companies”.
For the second quarter, financial institutions allow “slightly more restrictive credit granting criteria for SMEs and long-term loans”.
The questionnaire was sent to banks on March 19, 2026 and responses were sent until April 6.
