Credit Constraint Indicator: German Firms Report No Financing Problems Despite Euro Crisis

In the context of the Ifo Business Survey, the Ifo Institute asks survey participants to provide a monthly assessment of banks’ willingness to extend credit to businesses. Their responses are used to calculate credit constraints for German trade and industry. This calculation gives the percentage of firms that find banks’ credit granting practices restrictive. The article offers an overview of the latest developments and differentiates according to the different sectors of the economy and company size. Credit constraints are also compared with other indicators like the Ifo Business Climate Index.