Corporate Financing - May 2026 (Fédération Bancaire Française)

Summary

• Total corporate credit in France reached 1.413 billion euros at end-March 2026, representing an increase of 60% over 10 years.p.9
• Outstanding bank loans to SMEs and micro-enterprises reached 546 billion euros at end-March 2026, up +1.6% year-on-year.p.12
• Nearly 686.000 companies received State-Guaranteed Loans (PGE) totaling 144.5 billion euros, with more than 80% distributed to SMEs.p.17
• For SMEs and mid-caps, over 119.8 billion euros of PGE loans have been repaid by end-April 2026, representing 90% of the total granted.p.19
• Total corporate financing in France reached 2.155 billion euros at end-March 2026 (+3.6% year-on-year), combining 1.412 billion euros in bank loans and 743 billion euros in market financing.p.27

Key insights

1. Annual growth of corporate credits in France stood at +2.8% in March 2026, supported by interest rates lower than the euro area average.p.2
2. Margin rates of French SMEs and mid-caps remained resilient in 2024 at 24% and 27% respectively.p.3
3. The net leverage ratio for French micro-enterprises, SMEs, and mid-caps reached its lowest point in 2024 over the observed period.p.5
4. Guarantee calls on State-Guaranteed Loans (PGE) reached 6.75 billion euros, representing 4.67% of total amounts put in place.p.19
5. The Credit Mediation service recorded 492 eligible requests in H2 2025 compared to 621 in H2 2024.p.25
6. Corporate market financing in France increased by +5.0% year-on-year to 743 billion euros at end-March 2026.p.27
7. The final transposition of Basel 3 implementation leads to an estimated +15% increase in capital requirements for large international banks according to the EBA.p.28