January 2024 ended positively in terms of the number and value of bank loans granted to small businesses. Compared to the same period in the previous year, banks increased the number of loans granted by 6.5% and their value by 3.3%. The increase was particularly noticeable in the segment of operating loans, where the number of loans increased by 9.9%, and their value even more so, by 10.2%. These optimistic figures, however, were offset by a decrease in the value of investment loan contracts signed, by 13.2% year on year.
In January 2024, compared to January 2023, banks granted micro-enterprises 6.5% more loans, amounting to 3.3% higher in value. They granted almost 10% more (+9.9%) operating loans. However, there was a decrease in interest in overdrafts and investment loans. The number of overdrafts decreased by 7.7%, although their value increased slightly by 2.7%. More concern however is the decrease in investment loans, where both the number of loans granted (-7.6%), and their value (-13.2%) showed a negative trend.
“Reviewing short-term trends, January 2024 showed a slight increase in the number of loans granted by 4.1% compared to the previous month. However, the value of these loans fell significantly by 31.6%, which may indicate a more cautious approach by banks to financing micro-enterprise activities and a change in the structure of loans to lower amounts,” says Sławomir Nosal, Head of Analysis Team at BIK.
Construction and services – highest growth rate in January YoY
Out of the total number of 12.6k loans granted, service companies borrowed 6.0k (47.5%), and trading 2.9k (22.9%), which accounts for 70.4% of all loans granted in January of this year. Financing for these two sectors amounted to 62.7% of the total loan amount, with PLN 556 million (38.0%) for services and PLN 361 million (24.7%) for trade.
The construction sector saw the largest YoY increase with a 12.6% rise in the number of loans granted and a 14.3% increase in their value. The services sector also demonstrated positive dynamics, with an 8.7% increase in the number of loans and a 4.1% increase in their value. The value of new loans in January also increased in the trading industry (+4.6%). However, manufacturing firms ended January with a negative value trend in loans granted (-11.3%).
“The increase in the construction and services sectors is indicative of a rising trend in these industries. Meanwhile, the 11.3% decrease in loans granted to manufacturing firms may suggest difficulties in this sector. This is also confirmed by problems with timely loan repayments – in January manufacturing firms recorded the highest (and therefore, worst) of the main industries in the BIK Quality Index, reaching a level of 6%,” explains Sławomir Nosal.
