The guarantees hardened credit for operations that did not include them

The lines of guarantees approved by the Government during 2020, to help the self-employed and SMEs affected by the economic crisis, would have affected the loans offered by financial institutions. This is stated in the “Survey on bank loans in Spain: January 2021”.

The tightening was more moderate between July and December

On the one hand, with regard to operations with guarantees, both the concession criteria and the conditions applied to them were relaxed. Especially for loans requested by self-employed workers and SMEs.

This variation was especially noticeable during the first half of the year, from January to June. In the second semester, however, there has not been much alteration with respect to the previous period.

Yes there was, throughout the year, for credits without collateral. Especially in the first six months of the year, there was a hardening both the award criteria and the conditions. Less change, yes, in these seconds. Hardening was also observed from July to December, although less marked.

Guaranteed operations were more numerous in the first quarter

These variations were affected, in particular, by the number of operations requested and approved in the first and second half of the year. Thus, during the first quarter, the demand for loans by guaranteed SMEs and freelancers was more numerous.

In contrast, in the second quarter these requests were more moderate. The need for liquidity during the first months of the crisis, in which many businesses had to close, was the key.

In loans without State guarantees, the trend was completely the reverse. These operations fell throughout the first half. However, in the period from July to December, they increased slightly.