France lending margin: outstanding loans
France lending margin: outstanding loans stood at 0.22 Percentage points in Aug 2026, according to ECB Data Portal – Risk assessment indicators (RAI), France. It is one of the indicators in the Banking risk indicators table (Value · Monthly), with a complete series running from Jan 2003 to Aug 2026. The complete series with an interactive chart, free to download.
This indicator in the Banking risk indicators table
| Indicator | 08-2026 | 07-2026 | 06-2026 | 05-2026 | 04-2026 | 03-2026 | 02-2026 | 01-2026 | 12-2025 | 11-2025 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lending margins | |||||||||||
| Lending margin on outstanding loans to households and firms | 0.22 | 0.25 | 0.26 | 0.26 | 0.27 | 0.27 | 0.29 | 0.21 | 0.21 | 0.19 | |
| Lending margin on new loans to households and firms | 1.02 | 0.99 | 1.09 | 1.13 | 1.2 | 1.25 | 1.24 | 1.26 | 1.24 | 1.19 |
Understanding france lending margin: outstanding loans
The indicator evaluates the aggregate spread across the entire stock of active loans extended to households and non-financial corporations, contrasting with metrics restricted solely to newly agreed contracts. It encompasses all legacy mortgages, historical consumer finance lines, and pre-existing corporate term debt remaining on commercial bank balance sheets. Excluded are freshly originated loans evaluated in separate flow-based series, non-performing assets written off by institutions, and interbank lending holdings. Unlike flow indicators that capture immediate pricing reactions to current market conditions, this stock-based measure reflects the blended impact of historical interest rate environments alongside recent credit pricing.
Evaluating this series demands attention to its inherent inertia, as large portions of legacy portfolios adjust slowly to prevailing monetary policy changes. Revisions are generally minimal compared to flow metrics, but methodological updates or portfolio sales by institutions can introduce sudden data breaks. Observers should employ longer-term tracking to understand portfolio evolution, keeping in mind that comparing stock margins to new business margins will naturally reveal divergent paths during periods of rapid interest rate volatility.
Frequently asked questions
- Why does this stock margin differ from the new loans margin?
- The stock margin averages interest rates across all historical and current loans, whereas new loan margins reflect only pricing on recent contracts.
- How do loan maturities influence the movement of this indicator?
- Longer maturities slow the transmission of current market rate changes into the aggregate stock margin, creating a pronounced lag.
- Are non-performing loans factored into this outstanding spread calculation?
- Impaired assets where interest accrual has been suspended are typically excluded or treated differently depending on precise statistical reporting guidelines.