According to a survey by KfW, companies are finding it easier to get loans again.

Around 41 percent of the companies surveyed rated access to loans as easy, according to a survey by the state development bank published on Thursday.

In contrast, in last year's survey during the Corona crisis, only around 35 percent of the companies rated access as easy.

"Following a significant slump in the corona pandemic, the financing climate for companies and businesses improved again by spring of this year," explained KfW chief economist Fritzi Köhler-Geib. Around 24 percent of the companies rated taking out loans as difficult - roughly two percentage points less than a year ago. A total of 1700 companies took part in the survey between December 2021 and April 2022.

However, the financing climate remains below the level of the pre-crisis years, explained KfW.

Things are still tense, especially among service providers and in retail.

More than 40 percent of the service providers surveyed rated access to credit as problematic, while fewer than 24 percent rated it as easy.

Access to credit was assessed somewhat more positively in retail, wholesale and foreign trade and also in manufacturing.

The fewest restrictions were noticed in the construction sector.

Köhler-Geib pointed out the challenges for companies due to the Ukraine war and the energy crisis.

"The worsening economic outlook and rising interest rates to curb inflation are likely to have a negative impact on the financing environment and corporate credit access," she added.

According to the survey, demand for credit has fallen compared to the previous year.

Only 44 percent of the companies surveyed would have conducted credit negotiations in 2021, almost a third fewer than in 2020. At the beginning of the Corona crisis, the demand for credit skyrocketed.

At that time, it was important for companies to avoid liquidity problems as a result of the lockdowns.

The European Central Bank (ECB) pays close attention to how the financing conditions for companies in the euro countries are developing.

Because these are an important factor for the monetary authorities in their decisions on how loose or tight monetary policy should be designed.