Euro zone lending growth accelerates in July, ECB data shows

Growth in bank lending to companies and households within the euro zone showed an acceleration in July. This marks the first full month following the European Central Bank's decision to increase interest rates, an action not taken for nearly three years. Data from the ECB indicates that the annual growth rate for loans extended to non-financial corporations reached 4.4% in July, an increase from the 4.0% recorded in June. Similarly, lending to households expanded at a rate of 3.1% in July, up from 3.0% in the preceding month. This uptick in credit growth suggests that businesses and consumers continued to borrow despite the higher interest rate environment. ECB policymakers meeting last month saw another interest rate increase as likely necessary to bring inflation back down to 2%, the ECB's account of the meeting showed.