Supply

The supply questions of the bank lending survey focus on credit standards and credit terms and conditions, as well as the various factors that may have caused them to change. Credit standards are the internal guidelines or loan approval criteria of a bank. They are established prior to the negotiation on the terms and conditions of a loan and the actual approval/rejection of a loan application. Credit terms and conditions refer to the conditions of a loan that a bank is willing to grant, i.e. to the terms and conditions of the loan as laid down in the loan contract between the bank (the lender) and the borrower, such as the loan margin, collateral required and maturity. In addition to the questions on credit standards and terms and conditions, banks are asked to assess how specific factors affect the credit standards they apply when approving loans to enterprises and households and how they affect the terms and conditions of new loans to enterprises and households