Total loans rise CZK 13 billion but banks tightening corporate lending

Banks began easing up on household loan conditions in the fourth quarter of 2020, but they also got tougher on loans to companies. That's according to a survey carried out by the Czech National Bank, which idnes.cz reports that banks anticipate that companies will increasingly be applying for operational loans. They predict the opposite will happen in the case of households. While bank managers are anticipating continued growth in loan defaults in all segments of the market, they expect it to be less intense than in recent months. To cover these losses, banks have increase the margins they charge for the riskiest loans. But corporate loan volume have fallen among non-financial companies because they've reduced capital investments. Falling interest rates for mortgages on the other hand has driven up housing loan volumes and led market observers to predict that 2020 could break all records. Banks loans totaled CZK 6.19 trillion as of mid-September, an increase from July of CZK 13 billion.