Discover how special purpose entities (SPEs) are impacting the cross-border financial linkages of the euro area. Our latest blog post provides insights into the relevance of special purpose entities across euro area countries.

The numbers of bank offices and employees have significantly declined since 2008, with variations across countries. Our structural financial indicators reveal these trends and offer additional insights.

New dataset breakdowns provide more granular information on government loans, currency and deposits. These liabilities, which come on top of bonds and other securities, amount to roughly 16% of euro area GDP.

The ECB monitors developments in the euro area payments market. By analysing payments statistics, the ECB also identifies the latest trends, such as the growing use of contactless card payments.

Countries offer different interest rates for housing loans, contributing to inaccuracy when comparing interest rates for the same type of loan. To better reflect the market reality, the ECB devised cost of borrowing indicators.

Issuers of debt securities in the euro area have recently adjusted their financing choices in favour of securities with shorter maturities.

A sound understanding of the economic conditions of euro area households is an essential input in the ECB’s monetary policy decisions. From a macroeconomic perspective, the “Household sector report” contains a wealth of information for both euro area countries and all other EU members.

The ECB Data Portal is now the official source for data disseminated by the ECB. Via the new portal, you will be able to access data and statistics in a more intuitive and user-friendly way.

In most euro area countries, trade in goods and services fell significantly in 2020 and current account balances responded strongly to the changing economic and social environments.

The growth rate of lending to households has gradually increased to reach a high of 4.2% in August 2021. The euro area bank interest rate on loans for house purchase has moved steadily downwards and the rate at which house prices grew also increased.

Although household income tends to fall in times of a classical economic crisis, the coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis has caused the saving rate to almost double, reaching 25%

The €STR has moved within the range -0.583 and -0.511 since its launch on 2 October 2019. It stood at -0.570 on 29 March 2021. Since October 2019, trading volumes have mainly been between €30 and €50 billion per trading day.