Banks cut interest rates on loans for businesses but raise other costs

Brussels – Cheaper loans, so banks increase the cost of other operations: this is the case in the euro area, according to a European Central Bank survey released today. According to the study, as of the end of the first quarter of 2025, firms reported a net decrease in interest rates on bank loans (a net ‑12%, compared with a net ‑4% in the previous quarter), suggesting that “monetary policy easing is being transmitted to firms,” the results of the ECB’s analysis point out. At the same time, a net 24 percent of firms observed “an increase in other financing costs (i.e., charges, fees and commissions).”