Results of the January 2005 bank lending survey for the euro area

The European Central Bank (ECB) is today publishing its report on the results of the January 2005 bank lending survey for the euro area, as announced on 17 December 2004. In 2005 the survey will be published on the Friday following the first meeting of the Governing Council in February, May, August and November. Bank lending survey data were previously published one week after Governing Council meetings. The earlier publication of these data is designed to inform the general public in a more timely manner about developments in bank lending policies in the euro area.

The bank lending survey has been developed by the Eurosystem in order to enhance understanding of bank lending behaviour in the euro area. It is conducted four times a year, at the beginning of each quarter.

The cut-off date for the receipt of data from banks participating in this survey was 13 January 2005.

The report is available on the ECB’s website at http://www.ecb.europa.eu. In addition, the ECB will today publish the historical data series for the bank lending survey, i.e. the results for the nine quarters since the first survey was implemented in January 2003.