Following several years of sustained growth, France’s contribution to the euro area broad monetary aggregate M3 slowed down in 2008. Growth of loans to the private sector, the main source of money creation, moderated in France and the rest of the euro area.

In 2010, money creation and the growth rate of loans to the private sector were much more dynamic in France than in the rest of the euro area.

The number of business failures has risen sharply since summer 2008. In 2009, these failures tended to be observed among larger companies.

.

The euro area monetary aggregate M3, driven by overnight deposits,rose by 3.3% in 2012. The French contribution to M3 stood at 2.4%,underpinned by the sharp increase in passbooks. rowth in lending to the non-financial private sector slowed down in both France and the euro area.

Several countries have implemented programs to support their firms¿ internationalization efforts. Their impacts are likely to be heterogeneous over firm size categories because these programs are primarily intended and expected to benefit smaller companies. Whether this is or not the case is...

In 2011, the annual growth rate of euro area M3, which had turned positive in 2010 (1.7%), increased up until the summer of 2011 before falling back to 1.5% at the end of the year. Meanwhile, the French contribution to M3 stood at 3.3%, down sharply from the previous year (6.6%). Loans to the...

The pick-up in business in 2010 enabled SMEs to improve their profits and to build their equity, even if there were substantial disparities across companies. Increasing cash holdings and low investment are characteristic of cautious behaviour.

The new definition of enterprises and their size, with the introduction of mid-tier companies, has brought to light three very distinct populations. Mid-tier and large enterprises continue to borrow and invest, unlike small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which are nevertheless the most...

Since 2012, the Banque de France has conducted a new survey on access to bank loans /credit for industrial and service sector SMEs and MTEs. Firms appear to have reduced their demand for bank financing although the supply has not contracted.