The recent news that lending in the eurozone became more accessible in the first quarter of this year once again proves the old aphorism that a banker is someone who lends you an umbrella when it’s sunny and asks for it back when it starts to rain.
>>> Loans in the eurozone have become more accessible due to looser lending conditions
A survey by the European Central Bank showed that banks have eased lending conditions for companies and citizens, which would have been great news a few years ago when governments were desperately trying to open up clogged financing channels. However, the crisis has since passed, the economy has somehow managed without much help from banks, and the question is how much such news should be celebrated today.
On the contrary, the surge in lending at this stage of solid economic expansion can be understood more as a bad sign than a good one, considering that this is usually how the pumping of a debt bubble begins, similar to what brought the USA and the European Union to their knees about a decade ago.
