In 2023

Balance of credit granted to non-financial companies and households decreased over 2022

According to data from the Bank of Portugal, at the end of 2023, the balance of credit granted to approximately 4.9 thousand non-financial companies (NFC) in the Region totalled 1,889.8 million euros, down by 100.5 million euros (-5.0%) over the same day of 2022. The number of companies with loans decreased for the third consecutive year, dropping from 5.1 thousand to 4.9 thousand between 2022 and 2023, reaching levels similar to those recorded in 2014, a period during which this variable, on average, hovered around the same value (4.9 thousand).

Meanwhile, the amount of non-performing loans stood at 17.0 million euros in December 2023, decreasing by 24.6 million euros (-59.1%) compared to the same month in 2022. Thus, the ratio of non-performing loans in the Region decreased between the end of 2022 and 2023, from 2.1% to 0.9%, distancing itself from the national average (2.0%, the same value as December 2022), with the favourable differential to the ARM going from 0.1 percentage points at the end of 2022 to 1.1 percentage points at the end of 2023.

The percentage of borrowers in the NFC sector with non-performing loans at the end of 2023 was 13.9% (13.6% in the Country). Compared to December 2022, this indicator decreased by 1.6 percentage points in the Region.

In the sector of households and Non-Profit Institutions Serving Households (NPISH), the balance of loans granted was 2,915.0 million euros in December 2023, lower than the 3,073.5 million euros (-5.2%) a year earlier. 75.5% of that balance was related to the "housing" segment, and the remaining 24.5% to "consumption and other purposes". Compared to December 2022, the balance of loans granted for the first segment decreased by 1.3%, while for the second segment, the reduction was higher, at -15.3%.

The ratio of non-performing loans in the household and NPISH sector was 0.8% in December 2023, the same percentage as the national average, with the amount of non-performing loans totalling 24.1 million euros.

Regarding non-performing loans in the housing segment, they did not exceed 5.6 million euros, representing a ratio of non-performing loans of 0.3%, a proportion slightly higher than the national average (0.2%).

Conversely, in the "consumption and other purposes" segment, the ratio of non-performing loans was 2.6% in the same reference month, marginally lower than the national average (2.7%), with the total non-performing loans amounting to 18.6 million euros.

The number of borrowers in the household and NPISH sector amounted to 100.3 thousand at the end of 2023, which is -0.5% compared to the same period in 2022, a decrease explained by the decline observed in the "housing" segment (-2.9%), as the number of borrowers in the "consumption and other purposes" segment increased (+0.1%).

The percentage of borrowers (households and ISFLF) with non-performing loans in the Region was 5.4% at the end of 2023 and 6.8% in Portugal. Compared to a year earlier, these percentages decreased by 0.6 percentage points in the Region and increased by 0.1 percentage points in the Country.

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