Monetary developments in the euro area: April 2020

• Annual growth rate of broad monetary aggregate M3 increased to 8.3% in April 2020 from 7.5% in March
• Annual growth rate of narrower monetary aggregate M1comprising currency in circulation and overnight deposits, increased to 11.9% in April from 10.4% in March
• Annual growth rate of adjusted loans to households decreased to 3.0% in April from 3.4% in March
• Annual growth rate of adjusted loans to non-financial corporations increased to 6.6% in April from 5.5% in March

Components of the broad monetary aggregate M3

The annual growth rate of the broad monetary aggregate M3 increased to 8.3% in April 2020 from 7.5% in March, averaging 7.1% in the three months up to April. The components of M3 showed the following developments. The annual growth rate of the narrower aggregate M1, which comprises currency in circulation and overnight deposits, increased to 11.9% in April from 10.4% in March. The annual growth rate of short-term deposits other than overnight deposits (M2-M1) decreased to -0.3% in April from 0.0% in March, while the annual growth rate of marketable instruments (M3-M2) decreased to 6.7% in April from 10.1% in March.

Chart 1

Monetary aggregates

(annual growth rates)

Looking at the components' contributions to the annual growth rate of M3, the narrower aggregate M1 contributed 8.0 percentage points (up from 7.0 percentage points in March), short-term deposits other than overnight deposits (M2-M1) contributed -0.1 percentage point (down from 0.0 percentage point) and marketable instruments (M3-M2) contributed 0.3 percentage point (down from 0.5 percentage point).From the perspective of the holding sectors of deposits in M3, the annual growth rate of deposits placed by households increased to 6.7% in April from 6.0% in March, while the annual growth rate of deposits placed by non-financial corporations increased to 13.7% in April from 9.7% in March. Finally, the annual growth rate of deposits placed by non-monetary financial corporations (excluding insurance corporations and pension funds) decreased to 12.3% in April from 16.9% in March.

Counterparts of the broad monetary aggregate M3

As a reflection of changes in the items on the monetary financial institution (MFI) consolidated balance sheet other than M3 (counterparts of M3), the annual growth rate of M3 in April 2020 can be broken down as follows: credit to the private sector contributed 4.8 percentage points (up from 4.6 percentage points in March), credit to general government contributed 2.3 percentage points (up from 0.6 percentage point), net external assets contributed 1.4 percentage points (down from 2.1 percentage points), longer-term financial liabilities contributed 0.0 percentage point (up from -0.1 percentage point), and the remaining counterparts of M3 contributed -0.3 percentage point (down from 0.3 percentage point).

Chart 2

Contribution of the M3 counterparts to the annual growth rate of M3

(percentage points)

Credit to euro area residents

As regards the dynamics of credit, the annual growth rate of total credit to euro area residents increased to 4.9% in April 2020 from 3.6% in the previous month. The annual growth rate of credit to general government increased to 6.2% in April from 1.6% in March, while the annual growth rate of credit to the private sector increased to 4.4% in April from 4.2% in March.The annual growth rate of adjusted loans to the private sector (i.e. adjusted for loan sales, securitisation and notional cash pooling) stood at 4.9% in April, compared with 5.0% in March. Among the borrowing sectors, the annual growth rate of adjusted loans to households decreased to 3.0% in April from 3.4% in March, while the annual growth rate of adjusted loans to non-financial corporations increased to 6.6% in April from 5.5% in March.

Chart 3

Adjusted loans to the private sector

(annual growth rates)

Notes:

• Data in this press release are adjusted for seasonal and end-of-month calendar effects, unless stated otherwise.
• "Private sector" refers to euro area non-MFIs excluding general government.
• Hyperlinks in the main body of the press release and in annex tables lead to data that may change with subsequent releases as a result of revisions. Figures shown in annex tables are a snapshot of the data as at the time of the current release.